Château d'Arguel, Medieval castle ruins in Fontain, France

The ruins of Château d'Arguel stand on a rocky ridge above the village of Arguel, with the Doubs valley falling away more than 250 metres to the west. Two pale grey outcrops crown the wooded hill; only the base of an enclosure wall and the entrances to low rooms remain visible.

The first lords of Arguel began building the fortress in the 11th century. In 1336 Jacques d'Arguel was defeated by the Comtois barons fighting Eudes IV, Duke and Count of Burgundy, and the castle was set on fire. Louis de Chalon, Prince of Orange, restored it between 1430 and 1450. After the siege of Besançon in 1668, Condé took the castle and Louis XIV ordered it dismantled.

The site carries the name of its original builders and reflects the imprint of multiple ruling families across centuries. Visitors can explore the old foundations and imagine the former importance of this fortified residence.

The ruins stand on a rocky ridge above Arguel, reached by a climb through woods; the path is uneven and the remaining wall base and lower-room entrances are all that can be seen. The site lies within the DREAL-listed perimeter Château d'Arguel et grotte Saint-Georges. No guided tours are organised at the site.

The castle was dismantled by order of Louis XIV after the siege of Besançon in 1668, despite the defence led by Jeanne-Claude Boituset, wife of captain Duchesne. By 1827 a vaulted cellar, wall remnants and traces of the enclosure moats still survived; today only the base of an enclosure wall and the entrances to low rooms remain visible.