Château fort de Meursault (Hôtel de ville)

History

A fortified enclosure stood here by 1094, when the church of Saint-Nicolas, then inside the castle walls, was given to the Abbey of Cluny. In 1337 Robert de Grancey built a keep with walls two metres thick and rebuilt the ramparts, which enclosed the church, the cemetery and a parade ground. The keep once rose six storeys above the village.

The castle was dismantled in 1474, as Louis XI moved against the Duchy of Burgundy. Its walls were reworked in the 15th, 18th and 19th centuries, and the keep was cut down to its present height. In the 19th century the town council moved in, adding the glazed tile roof and a new building next door, which carries the date 1869 on a dormer.

Architecture

Part of the old keep survives on the west front, a tall grey wall absorbed into later buildings. The 15th-century house keeps its stone staircase and mullioned windows, and a square tower on the façade holds the stairs. A carved pointed panel shows the town's arms with grapes and vine leaves. The roofs are covered in lead-glazed tiles, and a corner turret has a pepper-pot roof.