Château de Tracy, Historical castle in Tracy-sur-Loire, France

Château de Tracy is a quadrangular fortress with four corner towers, surrounded by moats and entered by a single drawbridge topped by a large tower. The northeast wing was altered in the 15th century, and the west facade received Renaissance work around the drawbridge in the early 16th century. A tall round keep with a steep conical roof rises near the center, flanked by stone buildings with dark pitched roofs and a long slate-roofed wing.

Built at the end of the 14th or start of the 15th century, during the Hundred Years' War, probably on the site of a feudal motte, the castle was originally a quadrangular fortress with four corner towers, moats and a single drawbridge under a large tower. In the 15th century the northeast wing was altered, and in the early 16th century the west facade around the drawbridge received Renaissance work and the northeast wing a ramp-on-ramp staircase. After a partial fire at the end of the Wars of Religion, 17th-century works rebuilt the roof frames and modernised the facades, and the north pavilion was remodelled; works continued in the 18th century. In 1480 Charles VIII confirmed Guillaume de Corguilleray's right of high and low justice at Tracy, and in 1586 François II Stutt acquired the castle and fief by marrying Françoise de Bar.

A parchment from 1396 records vines already growing on the castle's land, and the estate now produces Pouilly-Fumé. The château itself is not open, but the vineyard hosts events and guided exterior tours run about 40 days each summer.

The interior is not open to the public, but guided exterior tours are offered during summer months and on European Heritage Days. Visitors should check when these special openings occur to experience the building's facades and outer features.

Antoine Destutt de Tracy, a noted French philosopher and military officer, inherited the estate in the late 18th century and lived here while developing his influential ideas. His intellectual presence added an unexpected cultural dimension to what was primarily a wine-producing property.