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Bussy-le-Grand

In the beginning was a valley with streams running through it. On the plateaus, fields, on the hillsides, pastures.
The Middle Ages saw the creation of the castle of Bussy, a fortress of four towers joined by ramparts, protected by a moat, collecting water from springs.
The castle changed era when, on his return from Italy, the Lord of Bussy ordered a dwelling and galleries decorated as in Rome. The Renaissance was entering Burgundy.
A century later, the castle found its definitive name. François de Rabutin acquired the seigneury and established his dynasty in Auxois. Everything accelerated with his grandson, the famous Roger de Bussy-Rabutin. From then on, the History of France, with a capital letter, took up residence in Bussy.
It must be said that Roger de Bussy-Rabutin was an atypical character: son of an officer of the king, he pursued serious studies with the Jesuits in Autun and Paris. While still a child, he accompanies his father to the battlefields. He shows great courage in all the battles of Louis XIII, in Lorraine, Flanders, Franche-Comté, wherever the cannon speaks under the authority of the Prince of Condé.
The period of Louis XIV’s childhood gave him the opportunity to perform numerous warlike exploits, such as the campaigns in Catalonia where he nearly died of quarte fever. His courage, his exploits as well as his birth enabled him to become Maître de camp général de la cavalerie légère, one of the highest ranks in the French army.
But between battles, one must entertain oneself. What better way to do so than to frequent Madame de Rambouillet’s blue salon, where the finest minds of the court and the best born too can be found! This is an opportunity to shine with culture and good words... It also means exposing oneself to the risks of making enemies, which are much crueller than those of pitched battles.
Monsieur de Bussy-Rabutin was also a great lover. With his wife, of course, but she died at the age of 24, leaving him grieving. So he consoles himself with a mistress, Madame de Montglas, with whom he has a passionate affair for a dozen years. When Madame de Montglas is ill, Bussy distracts her. How does he do this? By writing her magnificent letters, like those he exchanged with his cousin, Madame de Sévigné. Better still, he wrote her a novel, a satyr of courtly love. Louis XIV was offended and exiled Bussy-Rabutin to his home in Burgundy.
For 17 years, Bussy-Rabutin transformed the castle: he placed hundreds of portraits, overlaid with terrible comments, and created coded decorations, such as the Motto Room.
His personality and the richness of his castle encouraged his successors to preserve his work, which has been attracting the curious, history buffs and tourists for three hundred years.
Benefiting from the Bern Mission for Heritage and a fund from the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Region, the Château de Bussy-Rabutin underwent a major restoration campaign in 2021, led by the Centre des Monuments Nationaux, which enabled it to recover the richness of its decorations and furnishings as it was in the 19th
century.

François-Xavier Verger
Administrator of the Château de Bussy-Rabutin
www.chateau-bussy-rabutin.fr