A fortified gate in the medieval walls, listed as a historical monument, in the centre of the historical town of Semur-en-Auxois - ref 359237
A fortified gate in the medieval walls, listed as a historical monument, in the centre of the historical town of Semur-en-Auxois.
Semur-en-Auxois, which in the 18th century was nicknamed 'little Athens of Burgundy', is the historical capital of the Auxois area, is protected as a remarkable heritage site and is renowned for its architecture and history. Semur is on the edge of the Morvan regional natural park, is 1 hour from Dijon, 20 minutes from Montbard as well as its high-speed TGV railway station, and is also 10 minutes from the A6 motorway. It boasts all essential shops and services. The town, which stands in a meander of the River Armançon, was a castrum in the early Middle Ages. It went on to become a ducal administrative centre as well as an important economic hub and was fortified several times. However, it is the traces of its medieval urbanisation that still dominate today's landscape.
The edifice was one of the five access points to the village of Notre-Dame and its mentions in archives date back to as far as 1417, when work was carried out under the supervision of Jean de Sauvigny, who was governor at the time. In bygone days, before entering the walls, travellers had to pass through an advanced defensive structure called a barbican, as is still the case today. After the barbican stands the gate, providing access to the old quarters of the town, their cobbled streets, old shop fronts and half-timbered houses, all just a 5-minute walk from Notre-Dame Collegiate Church.
With its corbelled pepper-pot roofed towers, its hipped roof with two Jacobean dormers, its timber-framed upper level resting on brackets, and its pointed-arch carriage gates, it stands out to passers-by in all its majesty. Beneath its archetypal roof of flat tiles, the edifice boasts four levels: a ground-floor, an intermediate level, then the first and second floors. The dressed stone facade also has the particularity of typical wide grooves where the gaffs of the two drawbridges would have been placed. They indicate the presence of a pedestrian door, which has since been transformed into a window. A moat, which has now been filled in, completed the structure. Lastly, the south wall is punctuated by a door with moulded jambs features an unusual recess-shaped lintel. It houses a statue of the Virgin, on which traces of the original colours can still be seen.
The fortified gate
The ground floor
Through the door, a spiral staircase leads to the first floor. A small door on the left leads to the ground floor premises, with a window onto the street. The floor is paved with small, time-worn terracotta tiles.
The intermediate level
With a terracotta tiled floor and exposed beams, it consists of a small room lit by a lancet in a vaulted recess. This appears to be an old, narrow workspace in which there are traces of in-built wooden furniture.
The first floor
The two drawbridges were operated in the main room, the guardhouse, which is the main room in the building. The mechanisms have now been removed. It features a stone fireplace and, on the south side, an opening with an old window seat, now closed, visible from the corridor. The ceiling has exposed beams and the floor is paved with terracotta tiles identical to those on the lower levels. The half-timbering is visible through the light-coloured rendering on the walls.
The second floor
The second floor offers two living rooms, one of which has a fireplace with a large straight hood identical to that on the lower floor, and two smaller rooms in the turrets. In order to give the place a more comfortable character, alterations were made at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, such as the reduction of the wooden fireplaces, the addition of large windows and floor paving.
The exposed beams on ceilings reveal the skilful work of the carpenters of the ...
