Château de Chastellux, Medieval castle in Chastellux-sur-Cure, France

Château de Chastellux is a castle perched on a triangular rocky crest above the Cure valley. The buildings display different construction phases with towers and fortifications added over several centuries.

The Saint-Jean tower, built around 1080, forms the oldest core of this fortress that once protected Burgundy's borders during its independent period. Later construction work expanded the castle gradually over subsequent centuries.

The family name comes from Castrum Lucii, a site on the Cure 15 km from Avallon. The Chastellux coat of arms carries the head of Queen Brunehilde, who died in the late 6th century; the line descends from the brother of Anséric IV de Montréal. Marshal Claude de Chastellux won the Battle of Cravant on 31 July 1423 and was buried in the castle chapel.

The castle stands on a rocky peak above the Cure, 15 km from Avallon, on the border of the Yonne and Nièvre. The Saint-Jean tower keeps a five-level stair cut into a wall over 3.5 m thick at ground level, with a prison room and a dungeon reached through an opening in the vault. Look for the lantern on its roof, which held the warning bell.

The Saint-Jean tower, built around 1080, has a staircase cut into a wall over 3.5 metres thick at ground level. On its second floor are a prison for an officer and a dungeon reached through an opening in the vault, and its roof lantern held the watch bell that raised the alarm.