Château de Hattonchâtel
Encyclopedia
The Château de Hattonchâtel is a château
in the commune
of Vigneulles-lès-Hattonchâtel
in the Meuse
département of France.
The site was fortified in 860 by Hatto, Bishop of Verdun, whose name it bears, on a rocky promontory overlooking the Seine
valley. The settlement became the chief stronghold of the bishops and also the location of their mint until 1546. In 1636 the retreating Swedes
besieged and burnt most of the town.
The original medieval castle was destroyed during World War I
in 1918. The site was entirely reconstructed between 1923 and 1928 by Henri Jacquelin, a Norman architect originally from Evreux
, in the Neo-Renaissance
style. He produced the ultimate "troubadour
" château of Lorraine
, 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
by the French Ministry of Culture since 1986 and is privately owned...
The château is presently run as a hotel, wedding and conference centre.
Château
A château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally—and still most frequently—in French-speaking regions...
in the commune
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
of Vigneulles-lès-Hattonchâtel
Vigneulles-lès-Hattonchâtel
Vigneulles-lès-Hattonchâtel is a commune in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.The former towns of Billy-sous-les-Côtes, Creuë, Hattonchâtel, Hattonville, Saint-Benoît-en-Woëvre, and Viéville-sous-les-Côtes were joined to Vigneulles-lès-Hattonchâtel on 1 March 1973.-See...
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...
département of France.
The site was fortified in 860 by Hatto, Bishop of Verdun, whose name it bears, on a rocky promontory overlooking the Seine
Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
valley. The settlement became the chief stronghold of the bishops and also the location of their mint until 1546. In 1636 the retreating Swedes
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
besieged and burnt most of the town.
The original medieval castle was destroyed during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in 1918. The site was entirely reconstructed between 1923 and 1928 by Henri Jacquelin, a Norman architect originally from Evreux
Évreux
Évreux is a commune in the Eure department, of which it is the capital, in Haute Normandie in northern France.-History:In late Antiquity, the town, attested in the fourth century CE, was named Mediolanum Aulercorum, "the central town of the Aulerci", the Gallic tribe then inhabiting the area...
, in the Neo-Renaissance
Neo-Renaissance
Renaissance Revival is an all-encompassing designation that covers many 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Grecian nor Gothic but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of classicizing Italian modes...
style. He produced the ultimate "troubadour
Troubadour
A troubadour was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages . Since the word "troubadour" is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a trobairitz....
" château of Lorraine
Lorraine (province)
The Duchy of Upper Lorraine was an historical duchy roughly corresponding with the present-day northeastern Lorraine region of France, including parts of modern Luxembourg and Germany. The main cities were Metz, Verdun, and the historic capital Nancy....
, a pastiche which used some remains from the 11th century building. The work was financed by the American benefactor Belle Skinner
Belle Skinner
Ruth Isabel Skinner was an American businesswoman.Belle Skinner was a humanitarian and music-lover whose life her brother William memorialized in the construction of the Skinner Hall of Music at Vassar in 1932....
.
The Château de Hattonchâtel has been listed as a 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...
by the French Ministry of Culture since 1986 and is privately owned...
The château is presently run as a hotel, wedding and conference centre.