Château de Saint-Fargeau

The Château de Saint-Fargeau is a French castle in Saint-Fargeau in the Burgundian department of Yonne.

The origins of the castle go back to a fortified hunting lodge of Bishop Héribert d’Auxerre, which was built in 980. However, the current building dates from 1453 and the following years.

In 1652, Anne Marie Louise d’Orléans, known as La Grande Mademoiselle, was banished there. She had the castle renovated by François Le Vau, the brother of Louis Le Vau, between 1653 and 1657.

In 1713, the Le Pelletier family acquired the property. Jean d’Ormesson spent his childhood here and wrote the novel Au plaisir de Dieu about it, which was adapted for television in 1976.

In 1979, the dilapidated castle was acquired by Michel Guyot and subsequently restored with the proceeds from an annual historical summer spectacle featuring around 600 actors, 60 riders, and about 20 historical American military vehicles. The performances take place on weekends and are based on the thousand-year history of the venue.

Saint-Fargeau Castle, an irregular pentagon with imposing corner towers, has been classified as a Monument historique since May 5, 1949.