Château de La Motte-Tilly is a castle in the commune of La Motte-Tilly, 7 kilometres south-west of Nogent-sur-Seine. It is on the left bank of the Seine and has been open to the public since 1978.
The old castle, was first recorded in 1369. It was surrounded by a moat (which is still visible) and belonged to the lords of Trainel, then to the Raguier family, followed by the Elbeyne and Bournonville families. Finally in 1710 Louis XIV gave it to Marshal Duke Adrien Maurice de Noailles. The old castle was demolished and a new manor house was built in 1755 according to a design by the architect François-Nicolas Lancret. The new structure was intended to be a hunting lodge.
References:Sigmaringen Castle was first mentioned in the year 1077 in the chronicles of Petershausen monastery. The oldest parts of the castle are concealed beneath the alterations made during the 17th and the 19th centuries. The secret of the earliest settlement built on this defendable rock will never be fully revealed: large-scale excavation work would be necessary, which the extensive land development renders impossible. Judging from the many Roman remains unearthed in the area around Sigmaringen, the 12th century keep known as the 'Roman Tower' could be traced back to a Roman predecessor.
The castle remains that have been preserved (gate, great hall and keep) date back to the Staufer period around 1200. The castle remains were integrated into subsequent buildings. The foundations of the castle buildings are to a large extent identical to the surrounding castle wall.
These remains give us a good idea of how the castle might have looked during the 12th century.