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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Polisy, located in the Aube department, finds its origins in the 14th century with a strong house protected by streams and ditches. This early construction belonged to Itier V de la Broce and included a press. The major transformation took place in the 16th century under the impetus of Jean de Dinteville, lord of Polisy and bailli de Troyes, who undertook an ambitious reconstruction from 1537.

In 1537, Jean de Dinteville, who had become paralytic, retired to Polisy and launched the work through the lower court, as evidenced by the inscription on the front door: "10 † de Dinteville Condebat 1537". The lower courtyard housed various utility buildings, including an audience where Dinteville did justice, as well as a dairy, a cellar and stables. The first stone of the castle itself was laid in 1544, according to an inscription engraved in the cellar, marking the beginning of a construction inspired by the artists of the court, including Le Primatice and Domenico del Barbieri, collaborators of the Château de Fontainebleau.

The castle is designed to house a masterpiece: The Ambassadors, painting painted by Hans Holbein the Younger in 1533, representing Jean de Dinteville and his friend Georges de Selve. The architecture is inspired by the principles of Sebastiano Serlio, with a Renaissance façade overlooking a seigneurial chapel open to the church choir. In the 19th century, a restructuring added a dependency adorned with a serlienne, but a fire in 1992 seriously damaged the building.

Among the remarkable elements, a 16th century enamelled pavement, adorned with the inscription "FIDES SPES CHARITAS", was located in the grand hall of honor. In 2008, 28 m2 of this pavement, dated 1545, were acquired by the National Museum of the Renaissance of Écouen through the patronage of Axa, becoming a "National Treasure". The castle was finally listed for historical monuments in 2011, thus preserving a major testimony of the French Renaissance in Champagne.

The initial fort house, mentioned in the fourteenth century, illustrates the evolution of medieval fortifications towards more comfortable seigneurial residences. The site, located at the confluence of the Seine and Laignes, enjoyed a strategic position, naturally protected by the rivers. The flooded ditches completed this defensive device, typical of the constructions of the time in this region of transition between Île-de-France and Burgundy.

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