castles for sale Auxerre, France

Near Auxerre. A long bridle path leads to this exceptional period property dating from the 16th century and remodelled in the 18th century. Comprising four main buildings, it is set in peaceful extensive grounds with French formal gardens, woodland, streams and ponds. Featuring vestiges of the drawbridge and protected by a wrought-iron grille, the entrance porch has resisted the passing centuries and accesses an elegant central courtyard with three buildings bordering the moats. The four buildings have been recently restored and are in perfect condition. Superb living and reception rooms and bedrooms with private bathrooms command magnificent views. To the rear of the courtyard, the formal gardens are accessed by means of a stone bridge also featuring a superb wrought-iron grille. A central period water feature has been transformed into a swimming pool. A little consecrated chapel is on the edge of the woods which boast centennial trees, as do the gardens which also feature an orchard and a vegetable garden. Two caretaker’s lodges at the entrance to the property have been converted into 3 dwellings. Each benefit from privacy and open onto gardens distinctly separate from the main building. Other annexes include a building with 8 garages, as well as a function room featuring soaring ceilings. The ensemble is perfectly maintained. 50-page file with photos, technical details and further information by request.

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A 16th-century chateau, its drawbridge and water-filled moats surrounded by grounds of a little more than 5 hectares, two hours from Paris, in the middle of a Burgundy village. According to archival records, the chateau was built in the 14th century by the lords of Baulches and was used as a residence for the captains of the garrison before it was reorganised in the late 16th century and then once again in the 18th. What remains today after these transformations is an 18th-century monument, built over a platform of 50 x 50 metres surrounded by wide moats of more than 10 metres and closely connected to the memory of the Arnaud de Châteauvieux family, lord of said chateau. As for the property’s fortified gatehouse, restored according to standard practices, it once contained a drawbridge that provided access over the moats. A wide bridal bath connects the village to the chateau, where the property’s gate opens onto a Calvary surrounded by a large circular swath of lawn, which, is in turn, encircled by a drive, providing vehicle parking. From here, a small lane bordered by a low stone wall branches into two segments – once past the bridge decorated with two stone vases – which curve around a central lawn before finally reaching the court of honour. As for the gatehouse’s portcullis, now transformed into a tall gate, it provides vehicle access to the chateau’s court of honour, flanked by a pavilion on each end and landscaped with large pruned yew trees in the middle. Surrounded by moats, the water for which is supplied by a natural spring flowing from a shimmering blue fountain, on the northern side of the chateau is a stone patio, followed by a bridge that spans the moats, one end of which is safeguarded by a tall ornate gate with fine gold-plated motifs that gives directly onto the grounds with its paths lined by plane or lime trees. A pond that has been there since the chateau’s construction and now transformed into a swimming pool, is located directly opposite the chateau, while a stone deck with sculpted figures as well as ancient benches, antique statues, vases, a pond and a small stream embellish the premises, cadenced by multi-century trees and abundant flora. In addition, a wooden chalet, surrounded by lush vegetation, houses a sauna, whereas, set back a ways, a chapel seems to watch over the property and, a little further on, there is an orchard with greenhouses, beehives and small wooden sheds, used as workshops. Last, but not least, standing apart from the other buildings in a semi-circular courtyard are the caretaker’s cottage, a dwelling for the chateau’s employee and several garages that can hold about fifteen vehicles total.