The Château de Commercy is a castle in the town of

Commercy Commercy () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. The 18th-century Lorraine historian Nicolas Luton Durival (1713–1795) was born in Commercy. History Commercy dates back to the 9th century, and at that time ...

, in the

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

department of France In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

. It was the principal residence of the reigning Prince of Commercy and was built by Charles Henri de Lorraine. The site, château and grounds, was classified ''

Monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

'' in 1960, Château fort, Château Stanislas with the roofs and façades of the

wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expresse ...

being classified in 1972. Château de Commercy

History

In 1708, Charles Henri de Lorraine, ''prince de Vaudémont'', a legitimised son of the

Duke of Lorraine The rulers of Lorraine have held different posts under different governments over different regions, since its creation as the kingdom of Lotharingia by the Treaty of Prüm, in 855. The first rulers of the newly established region were kings of t ...

, began to reconstruct the old building to designs by

Germain Boffrand Germain Boffrand () (16 May 1667 – 19 March 1754) was a French architect. A pupil of Jules Hardouin-Mansart, Germain Boffrand was one of the main creators of the precursor to Rococo called the '' style Régence'', and in his interiors, of the ...

. At the same time, Boffrand had also started work on the nearby

Château de Lunéville The Château de Lunéville, which had belonged to the Dukes of Lorraine since the thirteenth century, was rebuilt as “the Versailles of Lorraine” by Duke Léopold from 1703 to 1723, from designs of Pierre Bourdict and Nicolas Dorbay and then ...

, then the residence of Charles Henri's half-cousin Léopold de Lorraine, the ''then'' Duke of Lorraine. In 1723, Léopold was given the Principality of Commercy at the death of Charles Henri who died without heir. As such, Commercy became another land holding of the

House of Lorraine The House of Lorraine (german: link=no, Haus Lothringen) originated as a cadet branch of the House of Metz. It inherited the Duchy of Lorraine in 1473 after the death without a male heir of Nicholas I, Duke of Lorraine. By the marriage of Fran ...

. In 1729, Léopold died at Lunéville. He was succeeded by his son, François III de Lorraine, future spouse of the

Empress Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. At the end of

War of the Polish Succession The War of the Polish Succession ( pl, Wojna o sukcesję polską; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II of Poland, which the other regional power, European powers widened in p ...

in 1737, the Duchies of Lorraine and Bar were ceded to the landless ex-king of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Stanislas Leszczyński Stanislav and variants may refer to: People * Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, a coastal village in Kherson, Ukraine * Stanislaus County, C ...

, father of

Marie Leszczyńska Maria Karolina Zofia Felicja Leszczyńska (; ; 23 June 1703 – 24 June 1768), also known as Marie Leczinska, was Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XV from their marriage on 4 September 1725 until her death in 1768. The daughter of Stanis ...

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...

's Queen consort. As Stanislas moved into the ducal palace at Lunéville, the Principality of Commercy was given to the widow of Léopold, the dowager duchess of Lorraine,

Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans (13 September 1676 – 23 December 1744) was a ''petite-fille de France'', and Duchess of Lorraine and Bar by marriage to Leopold, Duke of Lorraine. She was regent of Lorraine and Bar during the minority (1729– ...

niece of

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

and sister of the deceased Philippe d'Orléans. From 11 September to 5 October 1738,

Françoise de Graffigny Françoise de Graffigny (''née'' Françoise d'Issembourg du Buisson d'Happoncourt; 11 February 1695 – 12 December 1758), better known as Madame de Graffigny, was a French novelist, playwright and salon hostess. Initially famous as the author o ...

paid "Madame de Lorraine" a farewell visit at Commercy, and her letters to

François-Antoine Devaux François-Antoine Devaux (12 December 1712, in Lunéville – 11 April 1796, or 22 germinal year IV, Lunéville) was a Lorraine (and, after 1766, French) poet and man of letters. He was called ''Panpan'' by his friends. Life Devaux trained as a l ...

paint a lively picture of life there. When the Dowager Duchess of Lorraine died of a stroke, at Commercy, on 23 December 1744, ownership of the château reverted to Stanislas Leszczyński, under whom it had its golden age. He and his court made frequent visits to Commercy, where etiquette was more relaxed and social pleasures were the main occupation. In the summer of 1748,

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...

Émilie du Châtelet Gabrielle Émilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, Marquise du Châtelet (; 17 December 1706 – 10 September 1749) was a French natural philosopher and mathematician from the early 1730s until her death due to complications during childbirth in 1749. ...

and Saint-Lambert spent July and part of August there.René Vaillot, ''Avec Mme du Châtelet'', Voltaire: Oxford Foundation, 1988, pp. 323-32, 355-58, 386. In 1755, Madeleine Paulmier stayed at the château and, according to legend, gave her name to a cake, '' gâteau Madeleine''. Eventually the site became known locally as the ''Château Stanislas''. At the death of Stanislas, in 1766, the Duchies of Lorraine and Bar reverted to the Crown. The building then became quarters for a local cavalry unit. Neglected, the gardens quickly became overgrown; the once great

Parterre A ''parterre'' is a part of a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, low hedges or coloured gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically it was the part of ...

and the Grand Canal were destroyed, and their original site is today occupied by small buildings. Some old decorative pieces however can be seen on the shore of the

Meuse river The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

. For decades, the area was a ruin. In the 19th century, it again served the military by being the quarters of a

Garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

. The 20th century saw the building being used as lodgings for soldiers in 1940 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

; on 31 August 1944, the château was heavily damaged by fire; and, in 1957, the city of Commercy acquired the ruins from the State in order to carry out its restoration. Completed in 1977, it included the reconstruction of the courtyard façade (above picture) facing the town, and the restoration of the handsome square in the shape of a horseshoe. Today, the château houses Commercy's town hall, municipal library, and several administrative offices.

Owners

* 1708–1723 : Charles Henri de Lorraine, Prince of Vaudémont * 1723–1729 : Léopold de Lorraine, Duke of Lorraine * 1729–1737 :

François de Lorraine Francois de Lorraine (1506–1525) was the Lord of Lambesc, and a commander in the French army under Francis I of France. He was a son of René II, Duke of Lorraine and Philippa of Guelders. He commanded the Black Band (landsknechts), Black Band of ...

, Duke of Lorraine * 1737–1744 :

, Dowager Duchess of Lorraine, Princess of Commercy * 1744–1766 :

* 1766–1793 : French State

Gallery

File:F55 Commercy-château-tableauXVIII.JPG, View of the castle and town of Commercy, by an anonymous artist (18th century); ''

Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nancy The Museum of Fine Arts of Nancy (french: Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nancy), one of the oldest museums in France, is housed in one of the pavilions on Place Stanislas, in the heart of the 18th-century urban ensemble, a World Heritage Site by U ...

'', France File:PeintureChateaudeCommercy.jpg, Commercy, by an anonymous artist (18th century); '' Musée de Lunéville'', France File:Commercy Chateau.jpg, The ''parterre'' and ''pièce d'eau'' in front of the castle of Commercy, by an anonymous artist (18th century). File:Arriere chateau commercy.jpg, Back view of the château of Commercy, (photo Emmanuel Brunner, 2007).

References and notes

External links

Departmental committee of the Meuse
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chateau De Commercy Houses completed in 1747

Libraries in France

Residences of the House of Lorraine Monuments historiques of Grand Est Organizations based in Grand Est 1747 establishments in France

History

Owners

Gallery

See also

References and notes

External links