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Origin and history

The Château d'Harzillemont is a strong house built in the 16th century in Hagnicourt, in the Ardennes. Originally, this monument had a marked defensive character, with thick stone walls, four round towers at the angles of a rectangular house body, and ditches today filled. Over the centuries, successive developments have favoured comfort and aesthetics, such as the addition of neo-Renaissance skylights in the 19th century or the construction of a lateral wing, gradually erasing its initial military vocabulary.

The location of the castle, rue d'Harzillemont, distinguishes it from another missing castle located on Rue du Château. It overlooks a pond fed by the creek of Foivre, vestige of old ditches. Close to a military building burned in 1521 by Charles Quint during the siege of Mézières, this strong house was transferred around 1620 from the d'Harzillemont family to the Saint-Quentin family. Unlike many noble families, the Saint Quentin did not leave France during the Revolution, thus avoiding the plundering of their property.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Count Charles-Hector of Bruce, descendant of the kings of Scotland and military who had served under Napoleon, joined the family by alliance. He lived at the castle until his death in 1866, at 94 years of age. His descendants remained there until the General Council of the Ardennes acquired it a few decades ago. The castle, registered as a historic monument in 1987, now houses a departmental laboratory dedicated to animal health, food hygiene and water quality.

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