Château de Dornes, Castle in Dornes (Nièvre)

Château de Dornes is a 13th-century residence in the village of Dornes, Nièvre. It stands on a square platform of 32 to 37 metres per side, surrounded by water-filled ditches about ten metres wide, crossed on the south by a fixed bridge. The building is L-shaped, with two round towers on the facade and a third at the northwest corner of the platform; the photograph shows a red-brick and pale-stone front, three round arches on slender columns framing a white door, and a square tower with a pyramidal slate roof.

The castle is a residence built in the 13th century. The seigniory of Dornes was a vassal fief of the barony of La Ferté-Chaudron under the Bourbons, so it belonged to noble Bourbon families. On 5 July 1528 Thierry II Fouet de Dorne rebuilt the village ravaged by the Hundred Years' War and founded the Saint-Julien collegiate church, which lasted until the Revolution. A partial inscription as monuments historiques, covering the castle, moats, outbuildings, fixed bridge and dovecote, was issued on 10 April 1996.

The seigneurie of Dornes was a vassal fief of the barony of La Ferté-Chaudron, held by noble Bourbon families. On 5 July 1528 Thierry II Fouet de Dorne rebuilt the village ravaged by the Hundred Years' War and founded the Saint-Julien collegiate church, which lasted until the Revolution.

The château stands on a square platform 32 to 37 metres on each side, surrounded by water-filled ditches about ten metres wide; a fixed bridge crosses the southern ditch. The building is L-shaped, with two round towers on the facade and a third at the northwest corner of the platform. A courtyard once lay south and west of the castle, also ringed by ditches.

The 1996 listing covers not only the château but also its moats, outbuildings, dovecote and the fixed bridge (pont dormant) over the southern ditch. The bridge is a plain masonry crossing rather than a drawbridge, and the square platform it leads to measures roughly 32 to 37 metres on each side.