Château de Sedan
Encyclopedia
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
situated in Sedan
Sedan, France
Sedan is a commune in France, a sub-prefecture of the Ardennes department in northern France.-Geography:The historic centre is built on a peninsula formed by an arc of the Meuse River. It is around from the Belgian border.-History:...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, on a headland on the border of Meuse
Meuse River
The Maas or Meuse is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea...
, flanked by the rivers Bièvre
Bièvre River
The Bièvre is a 32.8 km long river of the Île-de-France région that flows into the Seine in Paris. The name translates to "Beaver River" in English....
and Vra
Vrå
Vrå is a town in Hjørring municipality in Denmark, as well as the former municipal seat of the abolished Løkken-Vrå municipality. Vrå has a population of 2,447 -References:...
, in the Ardennes département of France. It is a grand fortress of medieval European stock, covering an area of 35,000 m2 in its seven floors.
History
Around 1424, Eberhard II von der MarkEberhard II von der Mark
Eberhard II von der Mark was Lord of Arenberg and began styling himself Lord of Sedan in 1424.-Biography:...
built a manor with two twin towers around a church over a period of six years. When Evrard died in 1440, his son Jean de la Marck began reinforcing the fortress, but it was Robert II de la Marck, the grandson of Jean, who finished the most important work. In 1530, the fortifications of the manor were modernised by the construction of a circular boulevard and terraces with cannons, thickening the 4.5m curtain wall by an additional 26m. The bastions were added during the course of the next century, but some of them were eventually dynamite
Dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
d at the end of the 19th century. In 1699, the principality having been absorbed into France in 1642 (see the Battle of Marfée, during the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
), and the castle having been transformed into a garrison, Vauban built the door of the Princes that was adapted to the progress of artillery. In 1822, the Church of Saint-Martin was demolished and replaced with a store for cannonballs.
Turenne
Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne
Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne,often called simply Turenne was the most illustrious member of the La Tour d'Auvergne family. He achieved military fame and became a Marshal of France...
was born in the Château de Sedan in 1611.
On September 1, 1870, the castle was surrounded by the Prussian army headquartered in Sedan. Napoleon III
Napoleon III of France
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the President of the French Second Republic and as Napoleon III, the ruler of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I, christened as Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte...
surrendered the following day in the small neighbouring city of Donchery
Donchery
Donchery is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France.-Population:...
.
The castle was given by the French Army to the city of Sedan in 1962, and was subjected to a number of restoration attempts. Today the castle, in addition to being a tourist hotspot in the Ardennes, contains the office of tourism of the city as well as a 3-star hotel. There is also a museum inside the castle; one of the rooms of this museum is dedicated to the war of 1870, and one can find there a rich collection of Prussian helmets.