Château de Commercy
Encyclopedia
The Château de Commercy is a castle in the town of Commercy
, in the Meuse
department of France. It was the principal residence of the reigning Prince of Commercy and was built by Charles Henri de Lorraine. The site, château and grounds, was classified Monument historique
in 1960, with the town being added in 1972.
, began to reconstruct the old building to designs by Germain Boffrand
. At the same time, Boffrand had also started work on the nearby Château de Lunéville
, then the residence of Charles Henri's half-cousin Léopold de Lorraine
, the then Duke of Lorraine.
In 1723, Léopold was given the Principality of Commercy at the death of Charles Henri who died without heir. As such, Commercy became another land holding of the House of Lorraine
. In 1729, Léopold died at Lunéville. He was succeeded by his son, François III de Lorraine
, future spouse of the Empress Maria Theresa
of Austria
.
At the end of War of the Polish Succession
in 1737, the Duchies of Lorraine and Bar were ceded to the landless ex-king of Poland
, Stanislas Leszczyński, father of Marie Leszczyńska, Louis XV
's Queen consort. As Stanislas moved into the ducal palace at Lunéville, the Principality of Commercy was given to the widow of Léopold, the dowager duchess of Lorraine, Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans niece of Louis XIV
and sister of the deceased Philippe d'Orléans
.
From 11 September to 5 October 1738, Françoise de Graffigny
paid "Madame de Lorraine" a farewell visit at Commercy, and her letters to François-Antoine Devaux
paint a lively picture of life there.
When the Dowager Duchess of Lorraine died of a stroke, at Commercy, on 23 December 1744, ownership of the château reverted to Stanislas Leszczyński, under whom it had its golden age. He and his court made frequent visits to Commercy, where etiquette was more relaxed and social pleasures were the main occupation. In the summer of 1748, Voltaire
, Émilie du Châtelet
and Saint-Lambert spent July and part of August there. In 1755, Madeleine Paulmier stayed at the château and, according to legend, gave her name to a cake, gâteau Madeleine. Eventually the site became known locally as the Château Stanislas.
At the death of Stanislas, in 1766, the Duchies of Lorraine and Bar reverted to the Crown. The building then became quarters for a local cavalry unit.
Neglected, the gardens quickly became overgrown; the once great Parterre
and the Grand Canal were destroyed, and their original site is today occupied by small buildings. Some old decorative pieces however can be seen on the shore of the Meuse river.
For decades, the area was a ruin. In the 19th century, it again served the military by being the quarters of a Garrison
.
The twentieth century saw the building being used as lodgings for soldiers in 1940 during World War II
; on 31 August 1944, the château was heavily damaged by fire; and, in 1957, the city of Commercy acquired the ruins from the State in order to carry out its restoration. Completed in 1977, it included the reconstruction of the courtyard façade (above picture) facing the town, and the restoration of the handsome square in the shape of a horseshoe.
Today, the château houses Commercy's town hall, municipal library, and several administrative offices.
Commercy
Commercy is a commune in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.It is the home of the madeleines referred to by Marcel Proust in A la Recherche du Temps Perdu.-History:...
, in the Meuse
Meuse
Meuse is a department in northeast France, named after the River Meuse.-History:Meuse is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
department of France. It was the principal residence of the reigning Prince of Commercy and was built by Charles Henri de Lorraine. The site, château and grounds, was classified Monument historique
Monument historique
A monument historique is a National Heritage Site of France. It also refers to a state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building or a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, or gardens, bridges, and other structures, because of their...
in 1960, with the town being added in 1972.
History
In 1708, Charles Henri de Lorraine, prince de Vaudémont, an legitimised son of the Duke of LorraineCharles IV, Duke of Lorraine
Charles IV was Duke of Lorraine from 1624 to 1634, when he abdicated under French pressure in favor of his younger brother, and again from 1661 until 1675.- Biography :...
, began to reconstruct the old building to designs by Germain Boffrand
Germain Boffrand
Germain Boffrand was one of the most gifted French architects of his generation. A pupil of Jules Hardouin-Mansart, Germain Boffrand was one of the main creators of the precursor to Rococo called the style Régence, and in his interiors, of the Rococo itself...
. At the same time, Boffrand had also started work on the nearby Château de Lunéville
Château de Lunéville
The Château de Lunéville which had belonged to the Dukes of Lorraine since the thirteenth century, was rebuilt as “the Versailles of Lorraine” by Duke Léopold from 1703 to 1723, from designs of Pierre Bourdict and Nicolas Dorbay and then of the architect Germain Boffrand, whose masterwork it became...
, then the residence of Charles Henri's half-cousin Léopold de Lorraine
Leopold, Duke of Lorraine
Leopold , surnamed the Good, was Duke of Lorraine and Bar from 1690 to his death.-Early life:Leopold Joseph Charles Dominique Agapet Hyacinthe was the son of Charles V, Duke of Lorraine, and his wife Eleonora Maria Josefa of Austria, a half-sister of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor.At the time of...
, the then Duke of Lorraine.
In 1723, Léopold was given the Principality of Commercy at the death of Charles Henri who died without heir. As such, Commercy became another land holding of the House of Lorraine
House of Lorraine
The House of Lorraine, the main and now only remaining line known as Habsburg-Lorraine, is one of the most important and was one of the longest-reigning royal houses in the history of Europe...
. In 1729, Léopold died at Lunéville. He was succeeded by his son, François III de Lorraine
Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis I was Holy Roman Emperor and Grand Duke of Tuscany, though his wife effectively executed the real power of those positions. With his wife, Maria Theresa, he was the founder of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty...
, future spouse of the Empress Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...
of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
At the end of War of the Polish Succession
War of the Polish Succession
The War of the Polish Succession was a major European war for princes' possessions sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II, King of Poland that other European powers widened in pursuit of their own national interests...
in 1737, the Duchies of Lorraine and Bar were ceded to the landless ex-king of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Stanislas Leszczyński, father of Marie Leszczyńska, Louis XV
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
's Queen consort. As Stanislas moved into the ducal palace at Lunéville, the Principality of Commercy was given to the widow of Léopold, the dowager duchess of Lorraine, Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans niece of Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
and sister of the deceased Philippe d'Orléans
Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
Philippe d'Orléans was a member of the royal family of France and served as Regent of the Kingdom from 1715 to 1723. Born at his father's palace at Saint-Cloud, he was known from birth under the title of Duke of Chartres...
.
From 11 September to 5 October 1738, Françoise de Graffigny
Françoise de Graffigny
Françoise de Graffigny, née d'Issembourg Du Buisson d'Happoncourt was a French novelist, playwright and salon hostess....
paid "Madame de Lorraine" a farewell visit at Commercy, and her letters to François-Antoine Devaux
François-Antoine Devaux
François-Antoine Devaux was a Lorraine poet and man of letters. He was called Panpan by his friends.-Life:...
paint a lively picture of life there.
When the Dowager Duchess of Lorraine died of a stroke, at Commercy, on 23 December 1744, ownership of the château reverted to Stanislas Leszczyński, under whom it had its golden age. He and his court made frequent visits to Commercy, where etiquette was more relaxed and social pleasures were the main occupation. In the summer of 1748, Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
, Émilie du Châtelet
Émilie du Châtelet
-Early life:Du Châtelet was born on 17 December 1706 in Paris, the only daughter of six children. Three brothers lived to adulthood: René-Alexandre , Charles-Auguste , and Elisabeth-Théodore . Her eldest brother, René-Alexandre, died in 1720, and the next brother, Charles-Auguste, died in 1731...
and Saint-Lambert spent July and part of August there. In 1755, Madeleine Paulmier stayed at the château and, according to legend, gave her name to a cake, gâteau Madeleine. Eventually the site became known locally as the Château Stanislas.
At the death of Stanislas, in 1766, the Duchies of Lorraine and Bar reverted to the Crown. The building then became quarters for a local cavalry unit.
Neglected, the gardens quickly became overgrown; the once great Parterre
Parterre
A parterre is a formal garden construction on a level surface consisting of planting beds, edged in stone or tightly clipped hedging, and gravel paths arranged to form a pleasing, usually symmetrical pattern. Parterres need not have any flowers at all...
and the Grand Canal were destroyed, and their original site is today occupied by small buildings. Some old decorative pieces however can be seen on the shore of the Meuse river.
For decades, the area was a ruin. In the 19th century, it again served the military by being the quarters of a Garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
.
The twentieth century saw the building being used as lodgings for soldiers in 1940 during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
; on 31 August 1944, the château was heavily damaged by fire; and, in 1957, the city of Commercy acquired the ruins from the State in order to carry out its restoration. Completed in 1977, it included the reconstruction of the courtyard façade (above picture) facing the town, and the restoration of the handsome square in the shape of a horseshoe.
Today, the château houses Commercy's town hall, municipal library, and several administrative offices.
Owners
- 1708-1723 : Charles Henri de Lorraine, Prince of Vaudémont
- 1723-1729 : Léopold de LorraineLeopold, Duke of LorraineLeopold , surnamed the Good, was Duke of Lorraine and Bar from 1690 to his death.-Early life:Leopold Joseph Charles Dominique Agapet Hyacinthe was the son of Charles V, Duke of Lorraine, and his wife Eleonora Maria Josefa of Austria, a half-sister of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor.At the time of...
, Duke of Lorraine - 1729-1737 : François de LorraineFrancis I, Holy Roman EmperorFrancis I was Holy Roman Emperor and Grand Duke of Tuscany, though his wife effectively executed the real power of those positions. With his wife, Maria Theresa, he was the founder of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty...
, Duke of Lorraine - 1737-1744 : Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans, Dowager Duchess of Lorraine
Princess of Commercy - 1744-1766 : Stanislas Leszczyński
- 1766-1793 : French State