Photos

south Burgundy. This is one of the lovely castles of this region.

''The existing building was started in 1605 and took advantage from the protection of the river (not visible in this picture), which flowed at the foot of its walls.
The feudal ground plan is retained: a square with 4 towers at the corners. This design had both a practical motive (reusing the foundations) and a defensive motive (protection against brigands).
At the outset, a rampart enclosed the side with the main entrance, and access was only possible across a drawbridge over the 26 m wide moat. Gun-ports cover all the walls in crossfire to reach any possible attackers. The enclosed plan had above all a political motive. With moat and drawbridge, the chateau could effectively withstand a small army, and therefore possibly the king's soldiers.
The ramparts were demolished before the end of the 16th Century, as in many French chateaux.
Even if there were practical aesthetic reasons (a courtyard open to the outside was less dreary and stuffy), the demolition was above all a political act. It testified to Louis XIV that the nobility accepted his authority and set aside all ideas of revolt. Around 1815 the moat was filled in with 12000 cu m of earth taken from the gardens. At the same time the facade were covered in ivy. In this way the image of a castle was obliterated to make way for that of a large bourgeois house.
The moat was re-excavated in 1988-89 and the earth used to restore the levels in the gardens.''

a long description but the site worth it.