Château de Soupir

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Château de Soupir, in the Aisne department, stands on the site of a 9th-century wooden fortress. A 16th-century manor house was built there, destroyed during the Hundred Years' War and then rebuilt in the 19th century. Acquired in 1873 by Pauline Plé, it was transformed in the Renaissance style while retaining two medieval stone towers from the former fortress. The park was designed by the landscape architect Édouard Redon. After the estate was bought by Marie Georget (known as Mary Boursin) in 1906, a monumental gateway in the form of a triumphal arch, decorated with hunting motifs, was erected in 1908. Located on the front line during the First World War, the château served as a military hospital, suffered a fire in November 1914 and was then destroyed by the fighting in 1917; its ruins were razed in the 1920s. All that survives today is the 1908 gateway, damaged entrance gates and the remains of the park's grand canal, with a brick tower on an island. The ensemble has been listed (inscrit) as a historic monument since 14 September 2007.