THE SACRED AND THE PROFANE
Château de Bussy-Rabutin
The countryside to the west of Dijon in the Burgundy region of Auxois is a verdant green land of gently rolling hills where the source of the Seine river can be found in an underground grotto at Saint-Germain. There are fewer wineries in the regionn than the north-south routes of along the Route Grand Crus (see Chateau Marsannay Burgundy Wine Tour), but it is a beutiful region dotted with chateaux and historic ruins. A few kilometers from the renowned Abbey Fontenay one of the oldest and best preseved of medieval monasteries (see Abbey Fontenay) near Montbard is the classic formal 16th Century Chateau of famous libertine author and exile from the court of Louis XIV, Roger de Rabutin, Count of Bussy who exposed the more steamy romantic sides of the French Court in his l'Histoire Amoureuse des Gaules (sort of The French Love Chronicles).
After having served a fairly distinguished military carrier the Comte de Bussy fell into disgrace for having taken part in a rather large Paris orgy held inappropriately during Holy Week which caused a great scandal and was banished to his home estates. But his tell-all of the exploits of the Paris Royal Court's prominent madames and mistresses did not endear him any further with the Sun King and he spent his remaining exile years improving the original family chateau where he collected an impressive gallery of portraits accompanied by notations of his personal view of his contemporaries and history figures. The Heraldic room, Men of War room, Kings Gallery, Gilded Tower and the count’s own bedroom form the legacy of the most famous libertine of the 17th Century’s “Grand Siècle”.
Located adjacent to the Roman archeological site of Alesia the Chateau de Bussy-Rabutin is a four towered graceful edifice surrounded by the French style of formal ordered gardens and protected by a surrounding moat. The magnificent interior apartments are decorated with over 200 17th Century paintings with elaborately painted ceilings to rival a mini Versailles.
The Chateau is a French National Monument and open every day except Monday. From Dijon take route N71 to D954. From Paris take the A6 to exit 23 at Semur. Group tours can be arranged in advance. ©Bargain Travel Europe
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SEE ALSO:
CHATEAUNEUF EN AUXOIS
BEAUNE
AND OLD VIRGINS OF BURGUNDY
STONE AND GRAPES: THE CASTLES OF TRENTINO