In the 6th century, Germain, Bishop of Paris, was the owner of the estate of Gilly. In his honour, the Benedictine monks built a priory. In the Middle Ages, the monks of Citeaux came to live there and fortified the Priory of Gilly. This precaution did not prevent several attacks and destruction during the Hundred Years' War. In the 16th century, Nicolas Boucherat II, 51st Abbot of Citeaux, decided to rebuild the chateau de Gilly and make it into a residential dwelling which it remained up to 1789. However, the French Revolution upset this situation and on 14th May 1790, the properties of the Cistercian monks were declared a national asset.The Chateau de Gilly was sold to the Cote d'Or Department; it was restored and inaugurated as the "Chateau-theatre of Gilly-les-Citeaux" on 12th January 1978. This experiment lasted until 1985. Following considerable building work, the gates of the chateau-hotel de Gilly opened to the public in September 1988.