Château de Vignory, Vignory, France

The Château de Vignory is a ruined castle in the commune of Vignory in the Haute-Marne. It was the residence of the lords of Vignory. It was built at the start of the 11th century, but no elements of this period exist today.

The first written record of a castle is from the years 1050-1052. It had originally been a castrum, held by the first lord of Vignory, Guy.

The monuments visible today are more recent: the keep (middle of the 12th century) was used by the lord to receive his subjects; the tour au Puits (Well Tower, middle of 15th century) served to defend the entry to the village from Chaumont; various ramparts and defensive towers on the Valnoise side; the large tour Canonnière (Artillery tower, end of 15th century).

The side facing the valley was completed by a Renaissance gateway emblazoned with coats of arms leading to the lower hall, probably at the time of Henri de Lenoncourt, for whom Vignory was made into a barony in 1555. Of the castle's defensive walls, only segments of the curtain wall remain and a large artillery tower dominating the village and the valley, the so-called tour du Puits (well tower), reduced in height in 1846. Two other towers of the defensive walls, demolished during the 19th century, had cannon emplacements, attesting to the importance of adapting the castle to artillery. The logis, to which one of these towers was attached, was still roofed in 1840, but has now completely disappeared. The tower collapsed in 1913.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

jo thooris (2 years ago)
Very beautiful castle to renovate if you are high up with a panoramic view of the village and the excellent Marne valley you can access it by car or on foot for those with reduced mobility I recommend the car

Johannes Verhaegen (3 years ago)
Old village near Clermont. Half of the village is 'for sale'. Very old village church and lavoir.

Frederique Toletti (4 years ago)
Nice little walk, to do with family, with children, be careful it's climbing!! Accessible in 10 minutes walk. nice view of the village. Great renovation.

Lisa Voyageuse (4 years ago)
There are old towers and detours which have been redone by an association from the village you can take a nice little walk which is not very hard by parking near the church then you go up to the castle and you go back down to the village there is also a have it

Jonathan Daval (5 years ago)
Cool !

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Zvonimir Hrvoj

Historic Site of the week

Church of St Donatus

The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.

The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.

The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.

Château de Vignory

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Church of St Donatus