Château de Gray, Medieval castle in Gray, France.
Château de Gray is a former fortress in Gray, Haute-Saône, of which the 13th-century entrance tower and enclosure walls remain. The tower is built of rough light-grey stone blocks with moss and creeping plants, its projecting parapet resting on stone corbels above a round-arched gateway closed by a black metal grille. A pale panel above the arch reads "MUSEE Baron Martin".
The fortress was destroyed in 1192 and again in 1227 by order of Count Othon II of Burgundy, then rebuilt in 1248 by Count Hugues de Besançon. A chapel dedicated to Saint Elizabeth was added in 1266. After a fire in 1324, the castle and town were rebuilt around 1333 by Queen Jeanne of France, countess of Burgundy, and her son-in-law Duke Eudes IV.
Since 1903 the palace inside the old castle walls has housed the Musée Baron-Martin, created on the initiative of senator-mayor Maurice Signard. Its collection of more than 475 works grew from donations including those of Edmond Pigalle, grandson of Baron Alexandre Martin de Gray. A local archaeology section opened in 1973 in the castle's listed vaulted cellars.
The entrance tower stands in the upper town of Gray, above the lower town and the Saône. The vaulted cellars, listed since 1988, open with the museum's archaeology section created in 1973. The tower has been classified as a monument historique since 20 December 1916, and the surrounding walls since 13 September 1991.
The entrance tower was classified as a monument historique on 20 December 1916, the vaulted cellars on 24 October 1988, and the surrounding walls on 13 September 1991. The cellars opened to the public in 1973 as a local archaeology section of the museum.
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