Le Tartre combines a distinctive local history with a walking trail along the Seille. The castle around which the historic town centre developed overlooked the river; “Les champs de la Seille” is an easy loop from the town hall and back. This gives you two clearly defined themes to choose from: historic building remains and a named route between the Seille side and the plain.

Castle and Town Centre

The historic town centre developed around a castle that overlooked the Seille. The castle was destroyed in 1793. One remnant of the former complex still survives today: a motte measuring 12 metres along each side and 4 metres in height. The castle and motte represent two distinct aspects of the same history: the castle shaped the development of the town centre, while the motte is the surviving structural remnant.

Chapel and Village Church

The lords of Le Tartre had a chapel built near the castle; it became the village church in 1648. This change marks a different historical event from the castle’s destruction: the chapel changed function, while the castle ceased to exist.

Other Historical Dates

The tower of Saint-Michel Church had a thatched roof in 1870. The Pont de Gommerand dates from 1905. In chronological order, these dates mark the chapel’s conversion in 1648, the castle’s destruction in 1793, the tower’s thatched roof in 1870, and the bridge built in 1905. These dates place different events and structures across several centuries.

The Seigneurial Mill

The seigneurial mill stood on a diversion channel from the Seille, about one kilometre long. In 1806, it had nine mill drives: four paddle-wheel drives and five bucket-wheel drives. These details complement one another: the approximate length describes the diversion channel, while the breakdown gives a more precise picture of the mill’s technical equipment. The distribution was nearly even, with one more bucket-wheel drive than paddle-wheel drives.

Walking Trail along the Seille

The “Les champs de la Seille” walking trail starts at Le Tartre town hall and follows the Seille side along the edge of Sottessard and Jousseau. To finish, it crosses the plain back to the starting point. The loop is 5.2 kilometres long and rated easy. The distance and difficulty rating offer different kinds of guidance for planning: 5.2 kilometres indicates the length, while “easy” describes the difficulty rating. The trail therefore links a section along the Seille side of the two hamlets with a final stretch across the plain.

The Wider Landscape

In the Seille Valley upstream of Louhans, the area described extends from Saint-Usuge to Le Tartre. It covers six municipalities and 1,045 hectares, with Le Tartre at one end of this stretch of the valley. This is a different spatial scale from the walking trail: the trail describes a specific route, while the valley area encompasses several municipalities. This places the local connection with the Seille within a wider landscape.

Accommodation in Le Tartre

Le Chamois is a furnished chalet accommodation in Le Tartre, at 434 rue de Gommerand. This gives you a specific accommodation option to look into locally. Availability may change; please check before booking.

Discover more destinations: Fuissé, Le Puley, Saint-Point, Charnay-Lès-Mâcon, Baudrières, Huilly-Sur-Seille, Montagny-Lès-Buxy, Sologny

Back to the main travel overview: Saône-Et-Loire.