Cons-la-Grandville Castle

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Cons-la-Grandville Castle, panoramic view from the west

The castle Cons-la-Grandville ( French Château de Cons-la-Grandville ) is a castle complex in the Lorraine department of Meurthe-et-Moselle . It is located in the center of Cons-la-Grandville around seven kilometers southwest of Lonwy and is considered "one of the most beautiful Renaissance buildings in Lorraine".

The current complex goes back to a castle from the end of the 11th century, on the foundations of which Martin de Custines had a castle built in the Renaissance style from 1572 . Damage from the Thirty Years' War was only partially removed in the 17th century before Nicolas-Francois de Lambertye completely eliminated it in a reconstruction from 1730. Shortly after the end of the Second World War , in which a wing of the outer bailey was almost completely destroyed, the complex was placed under monument protection on April 11, 1947 as Monument historique ( monument inscrit ) . On August 11, 1987, large parts of the castle were included as monument classé in France's national list of monuments .

history

Already at the end of the 11th century there was a castle on the site of today's castle, which at that time belonged to Dudon de Cons, a companion of Godfried von Bouillons during the first crusade . He was first mentioned in 1088 when he founded a priory next to his castle with his wife Hadwige, a daughter of the Count of Chiny . This first castle complex was rebuilt and enlarged for Jacques de Cons before 1248. A round corner tower in the outer bailey and part of the east wall are still preserved from this complex.

In the course of its history, the Seigneurie Lagrandville was repeatedly divided, so that it was already fragmented in the 13th century. Jacqueline de Cons brought part of the castle and dominion to her husband Renaud de Neufchâteal de Varize. Other heir daughters of the family married Theobald de Custine and Robert de Housse. A quarter of the rule came in 1430 through marriage to Heinrich von Hagen ( de la Haye ) from a Saarland noble family . The Custine family gradually succeeded in taking over the entire property and thus reuniting everything in one hand around 1520. Martin de Custine had a new building built in the Renaissance style on the foundation walls of the old castle from 1572. An inscription on the outer facade of the castle reminds of this.

Marguerite de Custines, daughter of Jean-Baptiste de Custine and his wife Dorothée de Ligniville, married Count Jean de Lambertye in 1641 and brought the castle into their marriage as a dowry . It is still owned by the de Lambertye family today. During the Thirty Years' War the facility was badly damaged by Swedish troops. First repairs took place in 1688. It was not rebuilt until 1730 under Marguerite's grandson Nicolas-François the Lambertye. The west wing and the courtyard facade of the north wing were completely rebuilt. At the same time the church and the buildings of the priory to the south of the castle were rebuilt in the Baroque style. A few years earlier, the Seigneurie Lagrandville had been united with the lordship of Pierre-Pont and on January 3, 1719, under the name Cons-la-Grandville, the Duke Leopold of Lorraine raised it to marquisate .

At the end of the 19th century, Lucien de Lambertye had changes made in the interior of the main building in line with the tastes of the time. This mainly affected the former kitchen and an adjoining room to the east as well as the vaulted hallway of the lodging . During the First World War , a hospital was housed in the castle . During the Second World War, the western wing of the bailey with the horse stables was almost completely destroyed in September 1944 and only part of it was rebuilt afterwards. The entire system has been restored piece by piece since 1984 .

description

Floor plan of the castle

Cons-la-Grandville Castle is a two-part complex, consisting of a horseshoe-shaped main building (Logis) and a three-winged outer bailey to the south. The masonry of the complex was made of yellow Jaumont stone and has slate roofs. The ensemble is located on a tongue of hill that is washed by the Chiers and that slopes steeply to the river on the east side. The high embankment of the approximately 110 × 60 meters measuring castle area is clad with a lining wall , which is why the complex - especially on the north and east sides - has a fortress-like character.

The outer bailey has the shape of a horseshoe , the open side of which is turned towards the logis. Its oldest structure can be found in a round tower on the south corner. It dates from the end of the 12th or beginning of the 13th century. In the middle of the south wing from the 18th century stands the gate tower from the 15th century, which is one storey higher than the rest of the wing. Today, a stone bridge leads to its arched gate , which replaced the previous drawbridge in the 19th century .

South wing of the outer bailey with gate tower

The logis has three wings that frame a courtyard . Its two northern corners are marked by square towers with loopholes . The east wing is still entirely in the Renaissance style, while the other two wings look classicistic, especially on the courtyard side, due to destruction and later reconstruction in the 18th century . For example, according to the principles of baroque architecture, the central axis of the north wing is particularly emphasized by a triangular gable . From the outside, the viewer gains the impression of a multi-storey complex through the high, massive lining wall, but the castle actually only has a ground floor and a basement. Only in the corner towers is there a dungeon under the cellars . The narrow light openings at the level of the basement rooms and the entrance on the northern outer facade are ingredients from the 19th century. The windows on the ground floor, on the other hand, are original, their walls show the dates 1572, 1573, 1574 and 1575 and therefore date from the time of construction. Only one window is marked 1688 and can be assigned to the first reconstruction phase after the Thirty Years War. A niche shows the sculpture of Martin de Custine kneeling in front of his namesake, St. Martin . Underneath there is an inscription that reminds of the new building by him from 1572: LAN MDLXXII HONORE SEIGNEVR MARTIN DE CVSTINE SEIGNEVR DE CONS ET DE VILLI AIT COMMENCE A REDIFIER CES MAISON QVI CE RVINOIT.

Figures on the stepped gable of the east wing

In the southern part of the east wing, older material has been reused in the construction. The hemispherical stone blocks to be found there , from which grimaces were partially carved out, differ greatly from the rest of the material, which is made of carefully hewn blocks. The east wing has a stepped gable from the 18th century, the stairs of which are decorated with figures of arquebusiers . Its cross- frame windows facing the courtyard are framed by Corinthian pilasters with fluting . The portal , flanked by columns , shows allegorical representations of love, faith and hope. A relief above the lintel shows a reclining figure under a draped canopy , symbolizing charity. Through the portal, the visitor arrives in the large hall of honor ( French Salle d'honneur ) , which measures 12 × 8 meters and which previously served as a courtroom. A bay window on the east wall shows Gothic forms and used to be used as an oratory when needed . The five meter high walls of the hall are decorated with a surrounding painted frieze . On the north wall there is a splendidly decorated fireplace made of different colored materials, which from an art-historical point of view represents the most valuable piece of furniture in the castle and at the same time "is the richest thing that the 16th century sculpture left in this area". It comes from the time shortly after the new construction of the facility and is the work of the artist who also created the Renaissance portal. Its fall is supported by two caryatids , its high structure shows three relief fields with mythological scenes: the story of Pyramus and Thisbe , the judgment of Paris and the meeting of Actaeon with Diana . Inscription panels explain the content of the reliefs. On the sides of the fireplace are the motto DIEV EST MON ESPOIR ( German God is my hope ) and DIEV EST MON CONFORT ( German God is my consolation ).   

In the other two wings of the castle there are rooms, most of which are furnished in the style of the 18th century , such as the paneling . Exceptions are three rooms with vaulted ceilings from the second half of the 16th century; including the former kitchen with two large chimneys. The keystones of their star vaults show the coats of arms of the Custine, Cons and Guermange families. All other coats of arms on and in the castle, including those in the triangular gable facing the courtyard, in the sculpture niche on the north facade and on the keystones of the other vaults, were destroyed during the French Revolution .

literature

  • Jean-Pierre Babelon: Châteaux de France au siècle de la Renaissance . Flammarion, Paris 1989, ISBN 2-08-012062-X , pp. 641-644 .
  • Hubert Collin: Cons-la-Grandville. Château et prieuré Saint-Michel . In: Congrès archéologique de France, 149ème session. 1991. Les Trois-Evêchés et l'ancien duché de Bar. Société Archéologique de France, Paris 1995, pp. 79-93.
  • Jacques Choux: Lorraine: Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Moselle, Vosges (= Dictionnaire des châteaux de France . Volume 2). Berger-Levrault, Paris 1979, ISBN 2-7013-0229-3 , p. 63.
  • Marie-France Jacops, Jacques Guillaume (ed.): Le Château de Cons-la-Grandville (= Itinéraires du Patrimoine , issue No. 15). Editions Serpenoise, Metz 1992, ISBN 2-87692-118-9 .
  • Claude Frégnac: Merveilles des châteaux d'Alsace, de Lorraine, de Champagne, des provinces de Liège, de Limbourg et de Luxembourg. Hachette, Paris 1974, pp. 98-99.
  • Heinrich Kuhn, Jean Paul Koltz: Castles and palaces in Lorraine and Luxembourg. Based on old templates (= castles, palaces, mansions . Volume 25). Weidlich, Frankfurt a. M. 1964, pp. 89-90.
  • Heribert Reiners , Wilhelm Ewald : Art monuments between the Maas and Moselle. F. Bruckmann, Munich 1921, pp. 109-116 ( digitized version ).

Web links

Commons : Castle Cons-la-Grandville  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Uwe Annhäuser: Lorraine. Between the Vosges and Champagne, on the Meuse and the Moselle. DuMont, Cologne 1998, ISBN 3-7701-4426-0 , p. 86.
  2. ↑ a b First entry of the castle in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
  3. ↑ a b Dominique Auzias, Jean-Paul Labourdette (Ed.): Lorraine. Petit Futé, Paris 2014, ISBN 978-2-7469-7574-3 , p. 89.
  4. ↑ a b c d Claude Frégnac: Merveilles des châteaux d'Alsace, de Lorraine, de Champagne, des provinces de Liège, de Limbourg et de Luxembourg. 1974, p. 99.
  5. ^ Heribert Reiners, Wilhelm Ewald: Art monuments between Maas and Mosel. 1921, p. 109.
  6. ↑ a b c d Second entry of the castle in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
  7. ^ Heribert Reiners, Wilhelm Ewald: Art monuments between Maas and Mosel. 1921, p. 147, note 10.
  8. ^ A b Heinrich Kuhn, Jean Paul Koltz: Castles and palaces in Lorraine and Luxembourg. 1964, p. 89.
  9. ↑ a b Louis Alexandre Expilly: géographique Dictionnaire historique et politique des Gaules et de la France. Volume 2. Amsterdam 1764, p. 453 ( digitized version ).
  10. ^ Jean de Foville, Auguste Le Sourd: Les châteaux de France. Hachette, Paris 1913, p. 284.
  11. ↑ Château de Cons-la-Grandville , accessed January 15, 2020.
  12. ↑ Information according to the cadastral map for Cons-la-Grandville available online on geoportail.gouv.fr
  13. ↑ a b Jacques Choux: Lorraine: Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Moselle, Vosges. 1979, p. 63.
  14. ^ Heribert Reiners, Wilhelm Ewald: Art monuments between Maas and Mosel. 1921, p. 147, note 14.
  15. ↑ a b c Heribert Reiners, Wilhelm Ewald: Art monuments between Maas and Mosel. 1921, p. 113.
  16. ↑ François Houzelle: Excursion archéologique dans la vallée de la Chiers: Montmédy, Longuyon, Cons-La Grandville, Longwy, Mont-Saint-Martin. In: Société des naturalistes et archéologues du nord de la Meuse (ed.): Mémoires. Volume 10, part 2. G. Pierrot, Montmédy 1898, pp. 80-81 ( digitized version ).
  17. ↑ a b c Heribert Reiners, Wilhelm Ewald: Art monuments between Maas and Mosel. 1921, p. 147, note 15.
  18. ↑ François Houzelle: Excursion archéologique dans la vallée de la Chiers: Montmédy, Longuyon, Cons-La Grandville, Longwy, Mont-Saint-Martin. In: Société des naturalistes et archéologues du nord de la Meuse (ed.): Mémoires. Volume 10, part 2. G. Pierrot, Montmédy 1898, p. 81 ( digitized version ).
  19. ^ Heribert Reiners, Wilhelm Ewald: Art monuments between Maas and Mosel. 1921, p. 116.
  20. ^ Heribert Reiners, Wilhelm Ewald: Art monuments between Maas and Mosel. 1921, p. 147, note 16.

Coordinates: 49 ° 29 ′ 1.6 ″  N , 5 ° 42 ′ 3.2 ″  E