A first motte-and-bailey castle was besieged by Louis IV of France in 951. The Counts of Brienne are mentioned from 950 until 1356. A castle chapel, dedicated to the Holy Cross, is mentioned in 1166.
Abbot Étienne Charles de Loménie de Brienne became bishop, then archbishop, cardinal, and in 1787, a minister of state under King Louis XVI. His brother, Louis Marie Athanase de Loménie de Brienne, served as Secretary of War in 1787 and 1788 under the same king. This position prompted them to renovate their Brienne estate.
Both commissioned the reconstruction of the Château de Brienne, which began in 1770 and was completed in 1778, with the landscaping continuing for several years to create the exceptional view still admired today.
At the end of January and early February 1814, the area around Brienne was the scene of the Battle of La Rothière, during which Napoleon I directed operations from the Château de Brienne, where he spent two nights. According to Cassaigne, Napoleon nearly surprised the Prussian general Blücher at the castle through underground tunnels. In the ensuing assault, all the windows of the building were shattered.
After being sold and left uninhabited, the castle endured occupation during World War II, followed by abandonment until the early 1950s. The Brienne estate was converted in 1959 into a psychiatric hospital, now known as the Aube Public Mental Health Facility (EPSMA).
The site is not accessible to the visit excepting during the summer visits that could be origanized.
The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.
Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.