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A citadel of the
La Mothe was given back to the Duke in 1641. It was besieged three more times: 25 July - 30 August 1642, December 1642 - May 1643 and the last, begun by Mazarin, on 4 December 1644. After 205 days of resistance the city surrendered on 1 July 1645. Contrary to the agreement, Mazarin destroyed not only the fortifications, but the entire city.
This period was always a painful memory in
Duchy of Lorraine
The Duchy of Lorraine (french: Lorraine ; german: Lothringen ), originally Upper Lorraine, was a duchy now included in the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France. Its capital was Nancy.
It was founded in 959 following th ...
, La Mothe-en-Bassigny was built up over centuries to fight back intermittent waves of French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
invaders, by whose hands it was besieged in 1634 leading to its surrender, temporary return to the Duke, three further sieges and ordered destruction in 1645. It remains a ruin.
It is between the villages of Outremécourt and Soulaucourt-sur-Mouzon ( Haute-Marne), west of Neufchâteau, Vosges
The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a singl ...
.
History
The citadel was founded in 1258 and soon became a key commercial town of 2,000 inhabitants. In the 17th century, the Duke of Lorraine Charles IV lost all his possessions tocardinal Richelieu
Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...
except La Mothe. In 1634, the citadel withstood a siege of 141 days before it surrendered on 26 July 1634.
La Mothe was given back to the Duke in 1641. It was besieged three more times: 25 July - 30 August 1642, December 1642 - May 1643 and the last, begun by Mazarin, on 4 December 1644. After 205 days of resistance the city surrendered on 1 July 1645. Contrary to the agreement, Mazarin destroyed not only the fortifications, but the entire city.
This period was always a painful memory in Lorraine
Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of G ...
. French authorities, conscious of this, divided as France into its departments so that La Mothe forms a projection of Haute-Marne. This removed a brusque reminder of French triumph from Lorraine.
The ruins were classified as an "historical monument
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...
" in 1923 and large-scale restoration work was undertaken.
External links
* http://alain.j.schneider.free.fr/La_Mothe/La%20Mothe.htm (Francis Montignon) * http://perso.orange.fr/michel.paris/sitelamothe/ * http://www.anazarian.net/ * Forum about La Mothe en Bassigny : http://fr.groups.yahoo.com/group/La_Mothe {{Coord, 48, 12, 41, N, 5, 41, 8, E, type:landmark_region:FR, display=title Former buildings and structures in France 1258 establishments in Europe 1250s establishments in France