Château d'Epiry**Castle** Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

The Château d'Epiry is located in the commune of Saint-Émiland in the Saône-et-Loire department, on the side of a hill, away from the village.
Description
The château has preserved from the medieval period four round towers and a main residential building that indicate the polygonal layout of the former fortified castle arranged around a courtyard. The wall that originally enclosed this courtyard has been replaced by a gate flanked by two stone lions, which is reached by a bridge crossing the still-visible moat.
The four round towers may date from the 14th century. The north-west tower has preserved three carefully constructed stone machicolations, positioned in such a way as to dominate the entrance corner of the château.
The south-east tower contains the 15th-century chapel, decorated with a flamboyant Gothic piscina and old stained-glass windows. It is also believed that Roger de Rabutin was baptized there.
The 15th-century residential building occupies the north side of the courtyard between the two towers. The exterior façade is rather austere, while the courtyard façade is more ornate.
To the east, a large residential wing closes the courtyard opposite the entrance. The date of its construction is inscribed on the tympanum of the door: 1717. The central section, marked throughout its height by rusticated masonry joints, is crowned by a triangular pediment pierced with an oculus.
On the park side, this building presents a wide façade of the same character extending beyond the medieval towers. The central part is topped with a triangular pediment. At both ends, it terminates with slightly projecting pavilions whose corners are emphasized by rusticated joints.
The château is privately owned and open to visitors.
Protection
The château has been listed as a Historic Monument by decree of 31 October 1975, supplemented by the listing of parts of the estate by decree of 2 February 2024.
History
12th century: the fief was held by the Lords of Épiry, related to the Lords of Montbard and the family of Saint Bernard.
From the 14th century: the lordship belonged to the Rabutin family.
1618: birth at the château of the writer Roger de Rabutin, Comte de Bussy.
1648: the widow of François de Rabutin, Roger’s grandfather, sold the property to the Count of La Magdeleine de Ragny, whose descendants kept it until the French Revolution.
1717: construction of a new residential wing.
1800: repurchased by the La Magdeleine de Ragny family.
1824: sold by the same family to Antoine Bernard Carrelet de Loisy.