The Château de Blâmont is a castle built at the end of the 13th century in the French commune of

Blâmont Blâmont () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in northeastern France. Population Sights The Château de Blâmont is the medieval castle below which the city grew. See also *Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department *Flore ...

, in the

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

Meurthe-et-Moselle Meurthe-et-Moselle () is a '' département'' in the Grand Est region of France, named after the rivers Meurthe and Moselle. Its prefecture and largest city is Nancy and it borders the departments of Meuse to the west, Vosges to the south, ...

. It underwent successive alterations and extensions in the 13th, 14th and 17th centuries which have made it one of the most beautiful medieval castle ruins in

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

, thanks to the preservation of five towers. Despite heavy damage by American bombardment in 1944, the building has survived. Built around 1200, the castle was given new fortifications a century later. In the 16th century, a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

-style building was constructed within the walls. The fortress suffered during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

. During the 19th century, the medieval part was converted into a romantic castle, and part of the site became a weaving mill. In 1912, the castle became the property of a ''

chocolatier A chocolatier ( ; ; ) is a person or company that makes and sells chocolate confections. Chocolatiers are distinct from chocolate makers, who create chocolate from cacao beans and other raw ingredients. Chocolatiers work artisanally with pre- ...

'', Fernand Burrus, who added two towers. Today, members of the Association Clef de Voûte maintain the site and organise events.Association Clef de Voûte du Blâmontois website
Château de Blâmont has been listed as a ''

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 collection of buildings, ...

'' by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...

since 1994.

References

External links

*
Association Clef de Voûte du Blâmontois
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blamont, Chateau de Castles in Grand Est Châteaux in Meurthe-et-Moselle Monuments historiques of Meurthe-et-Moselle