The Château de Cléron is a 14th-century

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

in the '' commune'' of

Cléron Cléron () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. Population Sights * The Château de Cléron is a 14th-century castle, remodelled over the years. Its privately owned and not open to ...

, south of

Besançon Besançon (, ; , ; archaic ; ) is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerland. Capi ...

, in the

Doubs Doubs (, ; ; ) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. Named after the river Doubs, it had a population of 543,974 in 2019.département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'' of France.

History

Before the 12th century, the lords of Cléron succeeded the lords of Scey to control the crossing of the River Loue by a wooden bridge on the main « Route du sel » ("salt road") of

Franche-Comté Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou dialect, Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; ; also ; ; all ) is a cultural and Provinces of France, historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of France, departments of Doub ...

, the road linking

Salins-les-Bains Salins-les-Bains (), commonly referred to simply as Salins, is a commune in the Jura department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. It is located on the departmental border with Doubs, 34.8 km (21.6 mi) to the s ...

and assuring the prosperity of the region in the Middle Ages. The castle was built in 1320 on the bank of the Loue by Humbert de Cléron (vassal of the

County of Burgundy The Free County of Burgundy (; ) was a medieval and early modern feudal polity ruled by a count from 982 to 1678. It became known as Franche-Comté (the ''Free County''), and was located in the modern region of Franche-Comté. It belonged to th ...

) on the site of a former

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization (cultural), Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, Roman culture, language ...

castrum ''Castra'' () is a Latin language, Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'Fortification, fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified milita ...

''. During the Ten Years' War (1634-1644, and part of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

) led by Richelieu (cardinal and prime minister of

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...

) to attempt the reconquest of

Habsburg Spain Habsburg Spain refers to Spain and the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy, also known as the Rex Catholicissimus, Catholic Monarchy, in the period from 1516 to 1700 when it was ruled by kings from the House of Habsburg. In t ...

, the village was devastated, once by Swedish

mercenaries A mercenary is a private individual who joins an War, armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rath ...

in the pay of France in 1639, then a second time by the French. The castle was heavily remodelled in the 18th century while preserving its Middle Ages defences -

keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...

machicolation In architecture, a machicolation () is an opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement through which defenders could target attackers who had reached the base of the defensive wall. A smaller related structure that only protects key ...

arrowslit An arrowslit (often also referred to as an arrow loop, loophole or loop hole, and sometimes a balistraria) is a narrow vertical aperture in a fortification through which an archer can launch arrows or a crossbowman can launch Crossbow bolt, bolts ...

s and

murder-hole A murder hole or meurtrière is a hole in the ceiling of a gateway or passageway in a fortification through which the defenders could shoot, throw or pour harmful substances or objects such as rocks, arrows, scalding water, hot sand, quicklime ...

s. It is flanked by a square tower, the Clock Tower, from the 19th century. This perfectly restored castle is the private property of the Montrichard family. It has been listed since 1988 as a ''

monument historique () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...

'' by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...

Tourism

The private gardens are open to visitors during July and August.Franche-Comté regional Tourism Committee
CHATEAU DE CLERON
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Gallery

File:Franche-Comté (avril 2011) 014.JPG File:Chateau de Cleron 06.jpg File:Chateau de Cleron 04.jpg File:Chateau de Cleron 01.jpg File:Chateau de Cleron 02.jpg File:Franche-Comté (avril 2011) 009.JPG File:Chateau de Cleron 10.jpg File:Chateau de Cleron 03.jpg File:Chateau de Cleron 08.jpg File:Chateau de Cleron 09.jpg

References

External links

* Castles in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Monuments historiques of Doubs County of Burgundy Châteaux in Doubs {{France-castle-stub

History

Tourism

Gallery

See also

References

External links