After spending three nights in Annecy and the Savoie department of France, it was time for us to head back home. The drive took us about six hours, which is quite a long time for us to spend in the car, so we decided to break it up a bit by stopping at a few medieval villages along the way. The Burgundy region of France has quite a few nice locations to check out as you're passing through. We were able to see two of them.
Chateauneuf-en-Auxois
Our first stop was in Chateauneuf-en-Auxois, a small village located strategically between Dijon and Autun. It sits on a hill overlooking the valley of canal de Bourgogne as well as a landscape of gentle rolling hills, forests and farmers fields. One thing that France is known for, other than food, wine and castles, is its beautiful countryside.
With that in mind, the town of Chateauneuf seems to have a little bit of everything.
The town is located a few miles away from a major highway and we had driven by it on our way to Annecy and Switzerland this past summer. A defining feature of the village is its medieval castle which can be seen from the highway when you're driving by. Three times during each of our drives past I distinctly remember saying:
"Hey look at that, there's a castle on that hill over there."
The town itself is quite small but there was a lot of parking on one of the roads leading into the village. We walked the streets and explored a few of the shops selling local wine produced in and around the region.
The homes in town are well preserved considering that many date back to the 14th and 17th centuries. During those times the city was quite prosperous and mostly housed wealthy merchants of the area.
The castle, the keep, and the chapel date back to the 12th and 14th centuries and are actually among the last medieval structures preserved in the Burgundy region. The castle was originally built by Jean de Chaudenay in 1132 to serve as protection for his family during the 100 years war. The Castle survived nine generations but its legacy ended in tragedy when the last family heiress was burned alive after she poisoned her second husband. If Game of Thones taught me anything, being burnt alive is not a pleasant way to go.
Entrance to the castle was free on the day that we were there so that was a nice little bonus.
In 1457 the castle was given to Philippe Pot, advisor to the Duke of Burgundy. Pot converted the old fortress into a more comfortable modern day residence, similar to that of the Duchy of Burgundy. Nice trim work.
He also built a gothic chapel on the grounds in the courtyard which was constructed in the popular gothic architecture style.
A life size depiction of Philippe Pot's tomb can be viewed in the chapel, both from the ground as well as from one of the rooms above. Apparently, Pot was a member of the Order of the Golden Fleece, a group that I know absolutely nothing about. But I suspect that is why Pot is dressed as a knight and why the individuals surrounding him carry knights shields. If anyone knows more about it, please let me know in the comments.
In total we only spent about 45 minutes to an hour in town before moving on to the next location for the day. A 40 minute drive through the French countryside took us to the medieval village of Semur-en-Auxois.
Semur-en-Auxois
Semur-en-Auxois is a larger town also located in the Burgundy region just a little ways away from the city of Dijon. The old town is built on a pink granite bluff above the Armancon river, a lazy flow of water that circles most of the town.
One of the main sites there is its old fortified castle and ramparts which date back to the 13th century. Though much of the castle was dismantled a few hundred years ago, remnants of it are still visible throughout the city, especially its large towers that dominate the cliff side.
One of the first things that we did upon our arrival was walk across Pont Joly, the main bridge that crosses over the Armacon river. The opposite side of the bridge offers an awesome view of the old tower fortifications.
The Armancon river used to be a major source of power for the city's mills and tanneries, but in the 19th century a dam was built upstream to supply water to the canal de Bourgogne. Today the water is a mere trickle compared to what it once was. It looked more like a stream than a river, to me.
In the photo above you can see one of the old mills. It's below the bridge on the right hand side of the photograph.
Looking down into the valley below you can see homes that have been built along the banks of river. The private garden of this residence looks so peaceful to me, dead tree and all.
We did a bit of a loop on the other side and then crossed back over the bridge to continue our exploration of the old city walls and the town itself. Some major cracks can be seen in the ancient towers, both up close and from afar (see previous photos). It looks almost as if they are just waiting to split in half and fall into the street below.
Looking back to where we were standing on the other side of the bridge you can see a bare tree in the distance with a bench underneath it. That is the peaceful garden I mentioned previously.
Walled cobble stone streets lined with wild flowers and vines really added to the charm of the town and made for a very enjoyable walk that day.
Stairs leading down to the other side of town brought us to another beautiful part of the town.
Here, old homes are built into the bluff and along the lazy river that looks like a gentle creek. An old bridge spans the water and small fish can be seen catching flies on the waters surface. It was actually kind of a magical spot. See the first photo of the post to get an idea of what I'm referring to.
Making our way back up the bluff through a series of winding streets gave us an overhead view of the location we were standing at previously. I really like how the peoples homes back up to the old ramparts and the way their gardens are tucked into the bluff face. I just think that that it neat.
One last look at the town before heading back to our car and completing our journey home.
