Vienne-le-Château () is a commune in the

Marne Marne can refer to: Places France *Marne (river), a tributary of the Seine *Marne (department), a département in northeastern France named after the river * La Marne, a commune in western France *Marne, a legislative constituency (France) Nethe ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in north-eastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

History

The village dates back to the 6th century when it was the possession of the Bishop of Verdun. A castle stood on a hill in the west of the town. It was destroyed in 959 by Count Grandpre. Rebuilt several times, only ruins remain. In the 12th Century, the area was purchased by Count of Bar. The village was destroyed during the Great War.

Culture and heritage

Religious heritage

L'église Saint-Pierre-Saint-Paul is a church built during the 16th century. Built in the style of a Latin cross, the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

and the crossing were repaired between 1680 and 1690. Further work was undertaken from 1740 to 1744 and 1785 to 1788 when the facade, pillars in the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, vaults and steeple were renovated. During the Great War, the church served as a first-aid station and was badly damaged, with the northern

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

gutted and the steeple had collapsed. The church was repaired from 1925 and reopened for worship in 1930. It became a protected monument in 1922.

Civil heritage

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

was recorded here in the middle of the 11th century, belonging to the Count of Grandpré, and in the 13th century to the Count of Bar. In the 14th century, it became the property of the king of France. It was destroyed in 1810 and all that remains is the site with a

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

and a motte and the courtyard.

Places of remembrance of the Great War

Le Camp de la Vallée Moreau
Around 3 km north of the town, is the site of a German Camp called the "West Moreau Valley", where troops held in reserve during World War One stayed. It was occupied from February 1915 until September 1918. In 1997, work started to reconstruct the camp. La Nécropole Nationale de La Harazée
This military cemetery was created in 1915 during the

Battle of Argonne A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and forc ...

and has bodies exhumed from two other cemeteries. It has been enlarged over the years, first in 1924 then again in 1935 and 1936. It contains the graves of 1,672 French soldiers from Great War and one from World War Two. The last renovation of the site occurred in 1963. L'ossuaire de La Gruerie
The ossuary was created in 1923 and houses the remains of around 10,000 unnamed soldiers. The site was inaugurated on 7 July 1929. A stone wall, with the inscription ''Aux Morts de la Gruerie 1914-1918'' stands over the ossuary with a niche containing a female statue with folded wings representing Victoria. With the face of Marianne and wearing a Phrygian cap, she holds the flame of remembrance in her right hand while her raise left arm and hand symbolise the collection of the dead. A basement lies below with a gallery with plaques to the dead. The statute is by Raoul Lamourdedieu.

Gallery