Donneloye Castle

The last scion of the autochthonous family, Othenin de Donneloye, died circa 1387 without male issue: it is not known if a castle then existed in the village, but it seems probable.

The manor was then split, and the castle acquired by the family of Roguenet (or Regnault) de Romont, who apparently made important architectural alterations to the edifice.

Before 1600 Petterman d'Erlach (1579-1635), a Bernese catholic, inherited the castle by his marriage to Marguerite Roguenet, and on his death it passed to a distant relative, colonel Louis von Roll (1605-1652) of Soleure (Solothurn), who made further substantial alterations, evidenced by an inscription dated 1639 on the south façade.

In 1711 the Bernese, who had long wanted to acquire the manor because of its strategic position between Yverdon and Moudon, managed to persuade Loys' descendants to sell the rights, customs and usages, the family retaining the castle, the right to dispense justice to the inhabitants of Donneloye and other nearby villages, and to maintain a prison, no doubt the tower near the castle.

The castle was erected in several stages: dendrochronological research dates one of the earlier beams to 1434/5,[2] and by the 16th century it had taken on its current layout, including the imposing roof.