Photo : Espirat / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Le Château de Montfaucon dans le Doubs
The castle of Montfaucon was the cradle and home of a powerful and prestigious dynasty. Although the origins of this warrior clan remain a mystery, the fact that they were among the original vassals of Saint-Étienne cathedral in Besançon, after the Counts of Burgundy and before the lords of Abbans and the Viscounts of Besançon, has given researchers a firm lead. Béraud was the first known lord of Montfaucon, opening a line that ended at the close of the 14th century with Étienne de Montfaucon, Count of Montbéliard. In the 15th century the castle passed by inheritance to the Chalon-Arlay family, Princes of Orange, who kept it until the French Revolution.
The castle was abandoned after the Ten Years' War (1634-1644), waged by Richelieu to try to win the County of Burgundy from the Spanish Habsburgs.
In 1984 the commune of Montfaucon bought the ruins and has since undertaken a long and substantial restoration project to open them to visitors.
