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Origin and history

Blâmont Castle, located in the south-east of Meurthe-et-Moselle in the Grand Est region, has its origins at the end of the 12th century. Its history is closely linked to the family of the Counts of Salm, which emerged from the union between Agnès de Bar-Montbéliard and Hermann II, confessed by Senones. The seigneury of Blâmont was attributed to Ferry, the youngest son of Henry II of Salm, who became the first of them around 1186. The castle, probably built or enlarged under Henry III of Salm (died 1244), was used to control the strategic roads of the region, such as the Donon Pass. This work, coupled with other fortifications (Salm, Morhange), heavily indebted the family to the bankers of Metz.

In the 13th century, the seigneury of Blâmont was the scene of family conflicts. Ferry de Blâmont, uncle of Henry IV of Salm, tried to seize power by driving his brother Henry III from the castle. Ferry finally had to submit to the bishop of Metz in 1247, who became owner of the castle. His son, Henri "Maus Cerviaux", Senechal of Lorraine, strengthened the fortifications around 1300 and girded the city of ramparts. The family of Salm retained Blâmont until the 16th century, when the Duchy of Lorraine took possession of it. François I of Lorraine offered the county to his wife, Christine of Denmark, who had a Renaissance house built there and modernized the defenses.

The castle suffered heavy damage during the Wars of Religion (1587) and the Thirty Years War. Assieged and burned in 1636 by the French troops of Bernard de Saxe-Weimar, he was partially dismantled in 1670. In the 19th century, it became a private property, transformed into a romantic castle and then an industrial site before being bombed in 1944. Since 1991, the Association Clef de Voûte has been working to preserve it. The ruins, inscribed in the historical monuments in 1994, bear witness to its medieval past, with five towers still standing.

Architecturally, the castle illustrates the defensive evolutions of the Middle Ages in the 17th century. The cylindrical tower, raised in the 14th or 15th centuries, dominates the whole. Renaissance (1563) and classical (15th century) changes coexist with medieval remains. The site, a communal property, is a remarkable example of the Lorrain feudal heritage, marked by conflicts between lords, dukes and kings of France.

Future

Since 1991, volunteers of the Association Clef de Voûte have been working to maintain the site and revive it.

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