A little history of Nuits-sur-Armançon castle

Shoots in the night

Nuits is mentioned since the Middle Ages. But the first lord who went down in history was Pierre de Chenu: he get the land in 1533.

His son and grandson raised the current castle in 1549.

But the building works took 30 years. The period was pretty stormy… we were in middle of wars of Religion, all the area was shaken.

Castle of Tanlay and several other places became real Protestant bastions.

But in castle of Nuits, we remained Catholic!

So, François de Chenu’s family was many times besieged by Huguenots… Today, we still can see artillery shoots on the façades!

The Loto creator!

At the end of the 18th century, Nuits fell to the Clugny, Chenu’s relatives.

Among them, we have Jean-Etienne de Clugny, councilor in Burgundy Parliament, then Navy steward in 1765.

He replaced the famous Turgot as Lord High Treasurer in 1766!

But the chap made a quick career… few months only…

He completely messed up Turgot’s reforms and re-instituted old edicts giving privileges for the nobility.

He also created the Royal Lottery… the ancestor of our current French Loto!

An awful death

During the French Revolution, Nuits was sold, and several owners succeeded one another.

Including the marquise de La Guiche in 1806. This lady landscaped the park and altered the castle… But she prematurely died here!

An awful death, in 1822: a fire in a chimney burnt her clothes. Terribly wounded, she died after 2 days of horrible pains… like king Stanislas in his castle of Lunéville!

Buffon was here

Georges-Louis Leclerc lived in castle of Nuits... the famous French naturalist Buffon!

A chap born in Burgundy, in city of Montbard.

He became a friend of the family de Clugny.

So, those one often hosted him in Nuits: the tradition says he wrote a part of his book Histoire naturelle in the park…

The visit of Nuits

Outside, we notice the outhouses (18th c.) who used to house the stables and the kennel.

Inside, we have nice Renaissance chimneys with Chenu’s blazon: 3 boars’ heads and artichokes!

Then, we discover a dining-room with oak panelings and an Empire bedroom with gorgeous period parquet.

But also Buffon’s study… and the jail!

The cellar houses nice vaulted rooms, like the kitchen. In this kitchen, do you notice the well?

The castle was raised during wars of Religion, so they put a well in case of siege, to have water...