Bourbilly Castle

Bourbilly Castle, locally known as Château de Bourbilly, lies south of the hamlet of the same name in the Côte-d'Or department in France.

The lands of Bourbilly were first mentioned in the 11th century depending on the Lord of Époisses. At the beginning of the 13th century Bourbilly was detached from the lordship of Epoisses and was given to Jean d'Epoisses. It was probably he who built a first modest fortification here in the valley of the Serein.

Having belonged to the Beaujeu family since 1333, it passed to Marguerite de Beaujeu in 1374. She had then had the castle rebuilt into a pleasurable residence between 1374 and 1379.

In 1467 ownership of Bourbilly Castle came into the hands of the Rabutin family. Jane Frances de Chantal, a Catholic saint, lived here and her granddaughter Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné, a.k.a. Madame de Sévigné, a famous writer of literary letters, visited the castle often. It left the Rabutin family in 1719 through marriage.

The castle was bought in 1795 by a Frédéric-Augustin Pomme. He then demolished and transformed substantial parts of it. It was sold again in 1814 and the destruction continued. In 1850 the castle was bought by Charles Franquet, Count of Fanqueville, a State councilor. He then had Bourbilly completely rebuilt between 1867 and 1871 and it is his 19th century castle that we can see today. Through inheritances it is now owned by the Crépy family.

At present Bourbilly Castle is a private home but it can be visited for a small fee. A nice 19th century castle.

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