And here I am still getting old photos from my vault to bring them to life in my blog. So much to see in my belle France, and lucky to have circle it many times and fortunate to have kept a momento of these lointime trips. I bring you now to La Rochepot!
La Rochepot is located in the canton of Arnay-le-Duc in the Côte-d’Or department 21, in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region. . The Château de La Rochepot is a fortified castle of neo-Burgundian style from the 12C, altered in the 15C, completely restored in the 19C. In 1180, the fortified castle of La Rochepot was built on the ruins of the burnt down 11C castle of Lord of Montagu Alexander of Burgundy son of Duke Hugues III of Burgundy whose ruins remain in the surrounding forest.
And how did I come here? well, we went with the family and wife’s older brother from the Nord to spent vacation in the Côte Chalonnaise near Buxy where we rented a house. And as a base, we went to several places including La Rochepot. Now, we have back in the area of Beaune but not back here yet again. Another spot to revisit if my time on earth allows it!
A bit of history I like
In 1403, returning from the Crusades, Lord Régnier Pot, chamberlain of Duke Philippe II of Burgundy and knight of the Golden Fleece bought the castle, then named “Château de La Roche Nolay” and gave it his name then passed it on to his son, Lord Jacques Pot, who in turn passed it on to his son, Lord Philippe Pot. Etc., etc, and it goes on.
In the 16C, Marshal of France Anne de Montmorency became the owner of this castle. In the 17C, Cardinal de Retz Jean-François Paul de Gondi inherited the castle then sold it in 1644 to the knight and first president of the Parliament of Burgundy , Pierre Legoux de la Berchère. Joseph Blancheton is its last lord. He bought the castle in 1740. In 1789 during the French revolution, the renamed castle “Château de La Roche Fidèle” was declared national property. In 1893 Cécile Carnot ,the wife of the President of the French Republic Sadi Carnot, bought the ruins and offered them to her eldest son, the infantry colonel Lazare-Hippolyte-Sadi Carnot, who undertook for 26 years an important meticulous historical restoration in the 15th century spirit. Two drawbridges of recent work equip the castle such as drawbridges of carriage door and pedestrian door, or wicket, both equipped with their arrows, aprons and counterweights. Unfortunately, the castle is currently closed to visits for an undertermined period!!!
The city of La Rochepot on the castle: http://mairiedelarochepot.free.fr/crbst_13.html
The unfortunate petit histoire du château! A little story on the happening fo the castle was all over the news in France since 2015. I take some excerpts: In 2015, a Luxembourg company paid for the castle 3 million euros. It had been for sale for several years, its owner, a descendant of the illustrious Carnot family, de Nolay, having chosen to live in Los Angeles rather than on his lands in Burgundy. The castle was sold to a Ukrainian family in 2015, the owner of which was arrested by the Gendarmerie and Europol !! In fact, the historic monument was seized by the courts, and its current owner, a Ukrainian in his thirties, is languishing in the back of a jail . And the story is not over yet as the castle has been embargo by the authorities on illegal activities of the last owner.
There you go there are exciting times and unfortunately, again, this wonderful castle of La Rochepot that we visit with the family is no longer available. For the memories , it belongs in my blog. Hope you enjoy the story.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 