A call for donations in aid of the Château du Clos de Vougeot

The restoration of the north-east tower and chapel.

On Friday September 17th 2021, at a chapitre dinner marking France's National Heritage Day, the president of of the Fondation du Patrimoine, Guillaume Poitrinal signed a fundraising agreement with the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin, in the presence of Jean-François Curie, Grand Consul of the Confrérie, and Frédéric Didier, Chief Architect of Historic Monuments. The funds raised will go towards the restoration of the north-east tower of the Château du Clos de Vougeot. The cost of the first phase of the work is estimated at 400,000 euros, with a target of 120,000 euros raised from donations.

2024: WORK AREADY COMPLETED

Thanks to the generosity of our benefactors, the donations raised have allowed us to restore the Château du Clos de Vougeot's north-east tower. The work was carried out between February and April 2024. Some restoration work was also carried out on the chapel housed in the tower.

THE NORTH-EAST TOWER :

The north-east tower of the Château overlooks the vineyards eastwards towards Dijon. Built in 1551 at the height of the Renaissance, it has three levels: at the base, level with the vines, is a room with vaulted ceiling; the chapel is on the first floor, while the second floor contains an attic-room with ante-chamber.
The restoration work involved strengthening the walls of the tower, which over time had become partially detached from the main building. During the work, it became evident that no restoration work had been undertaken since the original construction.

THE CHAPEL:

The chapel was initially restored in 1892. The ceiling is decorated with Cîteaux's coat of arms, surrounded by those of the order's first four daughter abbeys: la Ferté, Pontigny, Clairveaux and Morimond. The arms visible in the room's four corners are those of four former abbots of Cîteaux - Doms Loisier, Vaussin, Trouvé and cardinal Richelieu.
According to Bernard Chauvin in "Le Clos et le Château de Vougeot, Cellier de l'Abbaye de Cîteaux", the chapel at one time contained a stained-glass window by Borghetto, depicting men harvesting and pressing the grapes behind the central figure of the martyr Saint Vincent.
For reasons that remain unexplained, the window was removed to the Château's wine cellar. With the support of the Fondation du Patrimoine, the funds raised from the second stage of the campaign will enable us to renovate this stained-glass window and reinstall it in the chapel of the Château.If you would like to support the restoration campaign, go to:
https://www.fondation-patrimoine.org/les-projets/chateau-du-closde-vougeot