The Château de Hattonchâtel is a

château A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...

in the '' commune'' of

Vigneulles-lès-Hattonchâtel Vigneulles-lès-Hattonchâtel (, literally ''Vigneulles near Hattonchâtel'') is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. The former towns of Billy-sous-les-Côtes, Creuë, Hattonchâtel, Hattonville, Saint-Benoît ...

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 ...

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

'' of France. The site was fortified in 860 by Hatto, Bishop of Verdun, whose name it bears, on a rocky promontory overlooking the Woëvre flat land. The settlement became the chief stronghold of the bishops and also the location of their mint until 1546. In 1636 the retreating

Swedes Swedes ( sv, svenskar) are a North Germanic ethnic group native to the Nordic region, primarily their nation state of Sweden, who share a common ancestry, culture, history and language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countr ...

besieged and burnt most of the town. The medieval castle was destroyed during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in 1918. The site was entirely reconstructed between 1923 and 1928 by Henri Jacquelin, a Norman architect originally from Evreux, in the

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

style. He produced the ultimate "

troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...

" château of Lorraine, a pastiche which used some remains from the 11th century building. The work was financed by the American benefactor

Belle Skinner Ruth Isabelle Skinner (April 30, 1866 – April 9, 1928) was an American businesswoman and philanthropist. She was a daughter of silk manufacturer William Skinner (1824–1902) and his second wife, the former Sarah Elizabeth Allen (1834–1908). ...

. The Château de Hattonchâtel has been listed as a ''

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 ...

'' by the French Ministry of Culture since 1986 and is privately owned. The château is run as a hotel, wedding and conference centre. The village of Hattonchâtel was an autonomous commune until 1973, when with several other villages it was incorporated in the

municipality.

References

External links

www.hattonchatelchateau.com
- Château de Hattonchâtel: official hotelier's website * Châteaux in Meuse (department) Castles in Grand Est Monuments historiques of Grand Est {{France-castle-stub

See also

References

External links