Château de Ray-sur-Saône

Ray-sur-Saône

Overlooking a meander of the Saône from a wooded promontory, the château de Ray-sur-Saône has its origins in a 10th-century fortress, at a time when the village depended on the abbey of Saint-Vincent in Chalon. At the end of the 12th century, Othon de La Roche became Baron of Ray by marriage: this Burgundian knight, who set off on the Fourth Crusade, went on to obtain the unprecedented title of Duke of Athens after the capture of Constantinople. The Counts of Burgundy recognised the lords of Ray's ownership of the fief around 1270. The fortress suffered the ravages of the Écorcheurs in 1434, then was largely destroyed during the Ten Years' War (1636-1646), before being rebuilt in classical style in the 17th and 18th centuries by the de Merode and then Marmier-Choiseul families. Two semicircular medieval towers can still be seen, the Tour Tranchée and the Tour du Guet, contrasting with the classical facade enlarged in 1805. The six-hectare park, laid out in the 1870s by the landscape gardener Eugène Bühler, is today listed as a monument historique (historic monument). Remaining in the same family line until 2015, the château was then given to the department of Haute-Saône by Diane-Regina de Salverte.

Getting there : Guided tours in the summer season, about 20 km north-east of Vesoul; car park in the village, landscaped park open to visitors.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound