The Château de Hattonchâtel is a

château A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, 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 re ...

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-Beno ...

in the

Meuse The Meuse or Maas 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 total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

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. 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 (), or Swedish people, are an ethnic group native to Sweden, who share a common ancestry, Culture of Sweden, culture, History of Sweden, history, and Swedish language, language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countries, ...

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

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

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 Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival ar ...

style. He produced the ultimate "

troubadour A troubadour (, ; ) 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 equivalent is usually called a ''trobairitz''. The tr ...

" château of

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 ...

, a pastiche which used some remains from the 11th-century building. The work was financed by the American benefactor Belle Skinner. The Château de Hattonchâtel 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 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 Meuse (department) Military history of Meuse (department) {{France-castle-stub

See also

References

External links