Berzé-le-Châtel Castle
The Berzé Castle , historically more correctly the fortress of Berzé-le-Châtel (French: Le château de Berzé ou forteresse de Berzé-le-Châtel), goes back to a castrum that was mentioned in 991. It belongs to the village of Berzé-le-Châtel in the French department Saône-et-Loire in the large region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, which merged in 2016 .
history
A medieval castle emerged from the castrum from the 10th century; the substantially significant expansion to Forteresse-de-Berzé began in 1229 under Prince Hugues de Berzé. In the warlike times up to the 15th century, the fortress was fought over and then exposed to decay for over two centuries. From the early 19th century onwards, the fortress complex was repaired by Antonin Gérentet after the damage from the wars and also expanded in the style of the zeitgeist and provided with houses. The original structure also includes two chapels in the late Carolingian style of the 10th century. The castle and chateau Berzé-le-Châtel are considered the best preserved Burgundian castle. In 1983 it was placed under monument protection.
Fortress
The essence of the fortress is the construction of three defensive walls arranged one behind the other and rising over terraces , which were built multipolygonally over a length of 300 m. The fortification walls, which are 3 meters wide at the bottom, still include thirteen defense towers , although a 14th tower that originally belonged to it is no longer available. In contrast, a gate building with a drawbridge and portcullis is still well preserved from the 12th century .
owner
Forteresse and Chateau Berzé-le-Châtel are not owned by the state, but are owned by the Counts of Thy de Milly, who run it as a winery in the Mâconnais vineyards and at the same time do not forego some fruit growing. It should be open to visitors in summer.