Doumely Castle () is a 15th-century fortified

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

that dominates the countryside of Porcien, situated in the '' commune'' of

Doumely-Bégny Doumely-Bégny () is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France. Population See also *Communes of the Ardennes department The following is a list of the 447 communes of the Ardennes department of France France, of ...

in the

Ardennes The Ardennes ( ; ; ; ; ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France. Geological ...

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 ...

'' of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The castle was fully restored at the end of the 20th century by its current owner, who had acquired the castle in complete ruins. The structure bears witness to the transformations that successive occupants have made to the castle: filling of the ditches, openings in the façade, destruction of internal levels, etc. The Château de Doumely 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 1984.

Architecture

The castle is characterised by its four teardrop-shaped defensive towers, that once overlooked a

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

filled with water. The association ''Les Amis du Château de Doumely'' (Friends of the Château de Doumely) organises tours to the monument and gives seminars on the topic of life in the middle-ages.

References

External links

Site of the Friends of the Château de Doumely
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Doumely, chateau de Castles in Grand Est Monuments historiques of Ardennes (department) Châteaux in Ardennes (department)