Ornans

Ornans lies in the valley of the Loue, beneath a rocky height where a castle guarded the town. The lords of Chalon held the fortress in the thirteenth century, and its position made it a point of defence in the county of Burgundy. The valley suffered plague and military incursions during the Ten Years' War in the seventeenth century. In 1674, during the French conquest of the county, Marshal Luxembourg's forces took and destroyed the castle, ending its long role as a stronghold.