From Sacred Ground to Architectural Marvel

Echoes of a Sacred Place

A place of Kings, Dukes, and lingering wonders.

First is a place.

For over fifteen centuries, the ancient village of Lantenay has been a place of quiet reverence, its sacredness deeply rooted since time immemorial.

Here, the past lingers in earth, water and stone, whispering tales of devotion through the ages.

The ancient settlement of Lantenay rests upon protective hillsides where a network of resurging springs weaves through the surrounding forests.

In Celtic and Merovingian times, these elusive waters, emerging and vanishing among rock formations at the mercy of rainfalls, were believed to hold a sacred, mystical power.

During medieval times, this abundant natural environment made Lantenay an ideal site for the construction of its historic château, one of the duchy’s rare estates to feature not only a castle but also a chapel and a park, all made possible by one such life-giving spring. This unique setting ensured Lantenay’s place as a favored retreat of the Dukes and Duchesses of Burgundy.

Duchy of Burgundy around 1360, location of castles with parcs and gardens.

A Sanctuary of Green and Stone.

Perched among the terrain’s creases and folds, overlooking the valley and the village, stands the 13th-century chapel, a sanctuary of faith and history, object of an annual pilgrimage for the fête de la Visitation from 1316 up to the twentieth century, and sole intact remnant of the Dukes of Burgundy’s Lantenay medieval castle.

Saint-Louis Chapel, former Notre-Dame Chapel of the Great Dukes' castle - Now a private property

Once home to a rare 800-year-old wooden statue of the Virgin Mary, the 13th century chapel is adorned with exquisite paintings, ostensibly commissioned by Alix de Vergy, Duchess of Burgundy. Both she and Agnès de France, King Saint Louis' youngest daughter, held regencies, governed the lands, and are known to have long-resided in Lantenay.

The spring’s waters were later canalized to feed the seventeenth century château, as it was built, filling its vast ashlar cisterns to this day.

Entrance to the chateau’s private resurging spring inscribed “Château water intake”.

Like the strong presence of this flowing element, here, the sense of the infinite is ever present - the name Lantenay is derived from the latin Lentennacus, meaning “the slow”. The romans named the village after the sensation they had already felt at the time, that of a place where the passage of time is somehow slowed down.