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Origin and history

The urban enclosure of Marville was built in 1270 under the impulse of the Counts of Bar and Luxembourg, then co-owners of the city. This defensive system, reinforced until the 16th century, included ditches, towers (such as Chanteclerc or Leclerc), and five access gates. The city, strategically located, was modernized to resist conflicts, especially during the French occupation in 1655 under Claude Manimont, governor of Jametz.

In 1672, during the Dutch War, Louis XIV ordered the complete dismantling of the fortifications, despite their modernity, for fear of enemy occupation. The stones were reused after the peace of Nijmegen (1678-1679), and the last remains of the doors disappeared in the 19th century. The chapel of the castle, dedicated to Saint Catherine, was already in ruins as early as 1692. The current enclosure retains traces of the courtine and ditches, protected since 2002.

The site was also marked by a historical episode during the First World War: the German emperor William II stayed there on 1 and 2 September 1914, during the advance of his troops. The elements protected today include the terrace walls, a part of the round path, and a vaulted room under the terrace of house number 8, witness to this turbulent history.

Marville, mentioned as early as 1189 in the will of Thiébaut I, Count of Bar, passed into the hands of several lords, including Ermesinde de Luxembourg and Waleran III de Montjoie-Faulquemont, before being sold in 1270 to Counts Thiébaut II de Bar and Henri V de Luxembourg. This condominium influenced its urban and military development, as evidenced by medieval texts evoking its doors and towers.

The Treaties of the Pyrenees (1659) and Vincennes (1661) formalized its attachment to France, ending its status as a disputed border town. The repairs ordered by Louis XIV in 1667 to house an infantry company underline his strategic role, before its definitive decline after the dismantling of 1672.

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