A little history of Jouy keep

A castle from Berry

Raised on a Gallo-Roman site overlooking the quiet valley of Aubois, Jouy is an old barony depending of the county of Sagonne.

Our story began with the foundation of a small priory in the 7th century, by a man named Bobolini.

Next to this priory, a little city with its castle started to develop, in the 11th century.

3 centuries later, the fief belonged to lords de Saint-Julien.

Then in 1346, it fell to Pierre de Giac, chancellor of France. This lord raised the current keep in 1373: his favourite estate!

The deathblow

Then the La Queuille turned up; Jean Babou, lord of Sagonne in 1551; the L'Aubespine; the Hardouin-Mansart; the Boisrenaud.

And during wars of Religion, in 1591, Claude de La Châtre besieged the fortress, in the name of the League. He settled here with his troops and started to terrorize the area.

Until duke of Nevers took the place and expelled them. At that time, the fortress was dismantled…

Sold during the French Revolution, Jouy was transformed into a stone quarry for inhabitants, to build houses in the village! A real deathblow which condemned the castle...

A pleasure fortress

The square keep is flanked with round towers on corners: fitting out were made in the 15th century, when lords of Jouy decided to ″modernize″ their apartments.

We had all mod cons, here! On the second floor, we found the lord’s accommodation with gorgeous chimneys, latrines and little windows.

The primitive keep was short: the next one had 5 storeys, accessible by a staircase located in one of the corner round tower.

In the 3 other towers, we found a small room with a fireplace and windows, except in the South-East tower, which housed the chapel. All the rooms were vaulted.