Photo : Arnaud 25 / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Château de Cléron
Before the 12th century, the lords of Cléron succeeded the lords of Scey in controlling the wooden bridge over the Loue on the main salt road of Franche-Comté, from Besançon to Salins-les-Bains, which brought the region its medieval prosperity.
The Château de Cléron, in the Doubs, was built in 1320 on the banks of the Loue by Humbert de Cléron, a vassal of the County of Burgundy, on the site of a Gallo-Roman castrum. During the Ten Years' War (1634-1644), waged by Richelieu to win the County of Burgundy from the Spanish Habsburgs, the village was devastated by Swedish mercenaries in French pay in 1639, and again by the French in 1641.
The château was much altered in the 18th century while keeping its medieval defences: keep, machicolations, arrow slits and murder holes. A square tower, the clock tower, was added in the 19th century. Perfectly restored, it is privately owned by the Montrichard family. The gardens are open to visitors in summer.
