Château de Cléron

The Château de Cléron stands on a rocky promontory above the Loue between Ornans and the source, one of the most dramatically sited castles in the Franche-Comté. The building dates mainly from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, with towers and a keep reflecting the border landscape — the region was long contested between France and the Holy Roman Empire.

The castle is privately owned and not always open to visitors, but it is visible from the road and the valley below, and its reflection in the Loue on still mornings is one of the most striking images in the valley. The village of Cléron below the castle is quiet and attractive, with the river close enough to hear from the main street.

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A story
The château has been in the same family since the sixteenth century — one of the longest continuous periods of private ownership of any major French castle. The family declined to sell during the Revolution and subsequent centuries of economic turbulence, maintaining the building and its contents largely intact.