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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The castle of Landreville is an old 16th century fortress, located in Bayonville in the Ardennes. Built in the early 14th century and restructured in the mid 16th century, it represents eight centuries of history, marked by families such as the Landreville, Issenart or Maillart. Ranked historic monument in 2006, it combines medieval and Renaissance architecture, with four towers, moats and a park of six hectares.

Landreville's chestnutry was attested to in the 12th century. The castle was renovated in 1567 by Pierre de Maillart, Baron of Landres, after a fire in 1552 which destroyed its interiors under the occupation of Charles Quint. He kept the large weapons room and the cannons. The portrait of Claude-François de Maillart, first Marquis de Landreville, was painted by Nicolas de Largillierre around 1735.

The castle is linked to the legend of the "La Dame Blanche" and that of Jean Colin-Maillard, a blind knight of the eleventh century, whose colin-maillard game would take his name. A monumental 14th century fireplace bears the sculptures of Johan Coley Maillard and his wife Jeanne de Seilles, Belgian ancestors of the Lords of Landreville. Today transformed into a Luxury Bed & Breakfast, it preserves Renaissance elements such as atlantes and a pediment with seigneurial coats of arms.

Architecturally, the castle is distinguished by its four pepper towers, its living water moats, and its French ceilings. The vaulted kitchen, known as the "Garden Hall", features a central pillar supporting rectangular ribs. The commons, partially destroyed, date from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This monument illustrates the evolution of the strong houses of Ardennes, between medieval defense and Renaissance comfort.

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