Chateauneuf en Auxois - Medevial Village

Double click the picture to EXPAND.  Note the Burgundy Canal in the picture.  It runs throughout the region and has a series of locks for the barges that historically transported goods from the villages.  This picture was take from outside of the castle looking over the valley below.  Pretty stunning.

London & Pappy - Best ride in town!!!

Today we went to Chateauneuf en Auxois a top of the hill medevial village.  It is rated as one of the most scenic historical villages in France.  We hung out, viewed the Castle, had lunch and then took back roads along the Burgundy Canal all of the way back to Beaune.  Sherry was seated in the way back and back seat drove the whole way.  She said it was like being on a roller coaster.  By the way, you have to like the way the dynasty ended!!

VILLAGE INFO

The castle was built in 1132 by Jean de Chaudenay for his second son Jehan. Jehan took possession of Castro Novo in 1175. The family reigned over the fief for 9 generations, en ending in tragedy in 1456, when Cathrine of Châteauneuf was burnt to death, after poisoning her second husband, Jacques d'Haussonville.

The castle was then given by Philippe le Bon (Duke of Burgundy) to his godson Philippe Pot. The interior courtyard buildings were rebuilt and the castle made much more comfortable. As Philippe Pot had no children and died in 1493 the estate was given to his brother Guy Pot and through marriages Marie Liesse de Luxembourg. As she became a Carmelite nun, the castle and lands were purchased by Charles de Vienne. For almost 150 years the castle remained in the family, until Louis Henri de Vienne sold to a rich banker "Paris de Montmartel" in 1767. Through various heritage the castle returned into the hands of the Veinne family.

With the French revolution, the castle was taken away from the family, the lands divided. The new name of the village was Montfranc. All coats of arms and "Royal" symbols degraded or destroyed. The village remained important as garrison for the National Guard and a commercial centre with a population of more than 500.