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Origin and history

The Château de Montmort, located in Montmort-Lucy in the Marne (Grand Est), is an emblematic monument dating back to the Middle Ages. Mentioned from the 11th century as a seigneurial fortress, it was successively occupied by noble families such as the Hangest, the Crequy or the Bethune Sully. The major reconstruction, completed in 1577 under the impulse of Jeanne de Hangest and her husband Claude d'Aguerre, gave him its Renaissance aspect while retaining feudal elements, such as the bastions inspired by the Italian military innovations of the sixteenth century.

In the 17th century, the castle passed into the hands of the family of Créquy and was acquired in 1704 by Pierre Remond, a mathematician famous for his work on probabilities. His son, François, was raised to the rank of Marquis de Montmort and served as Marshal under Louis XV. The lineage of the Remonds, then of the Crombez de Montmort, occupied the places continuously until 2022, despite the ravages of the Revolution, Napoleonic wars and the two world conflicts, which required extensive restoration campaigns in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Architecturally, the castle is distinguished by its structure in three superimposed levels: a 15th century fortified courtyard, a quadrilateral shirt flanked by tower-bastions (XVIth century), and a body of Renaissance brick houses, decorated with splinters and a monumental door. The park, accessible by a three arched bridge, and the interiors – such as the Gardens Hall (17th century) or the panelling painted by Cicéri in 1851 – testify to its stylistic evolution. Ranked Historic Monument in 2001, there is still private property, closed to the public.

The site is also marked by literary anecdotes, such as Victor Hugo's enthusiastic description of a "loving tohu-bohu of turrets and girouettes". His history reflects the political and social upheavals of France, from the wars of Religion to the aristocratic emigrations during the Revolution, to German occupation during the two world wars, which made him a "miracle" of the Champagne heritage.

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