Château de Saint-Dizier

En un regard

Le château en bref

At the heart of Saint-Dizier, on the banks of the Marne, the château is first mentioned in 1189 in the cartulary of the Abbey of Montier-en-Der and was completed around 1228. It belonged to the Dampierre family until 1401, then passed to Jean III de Vergy and his descendants, before reverting to the Crown and being held as an appanage by the Duke of Orléans until 1701. In the 16th century, royal engineers strengthened it with bastions, making the town a fortified stronghold facing the Empire. Following the great fire of 1775, which devastated the old town, the estate was bought in 1776 by the Baron de Courville, and passed to Nicolas Coquart in 1826. The moats were filled in during the 19th century and several towers disappeared; a gateway and the 12th-century town wall survive, along with the Saint-Esprit Tower. Damaged by a fire in 1945, the ensemble has been partially listed as a historic monument since 2 March 1994 and underwent restoration work begun in 1997. Part of the buildings houses the sub-prefecture.