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Château de Brienne-le-Château dans l'Aube

Patrimoine classé
Patrimoine défensif
Demeure seigneuriale
Château de style Classique

Château de Brienne-le-Château

    Le Château
    10500 Brienne-le-Château
Ownership of a public health institution
Château de Brienne-le-Château
Château de Brienne-le-Château
Château de Brienne-le-Château
Château de Brienne-le-Château
Château de Brienne-le-Château
Château de Brienne-le-Château
Château de Brienne-le-Château
Château de Brienne-le-Château
Château de Brienne-le-Château
Château de Brienne-le-Château
Château de Brienne-le-Château
Crédit photo : Eugen.Schwoerer - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Haut Moyen Âge
Moyen Âge central
Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1000
1100
1200
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
951
Seat of the first castle
1166
Castral chapel quoted
1640
County inherited by Loménia
1770-1778
Reconstruction of the castle
25 août 1778
Opening of the castle
janvier-février 1814
Napoleon at the castle
1959
Transformation into a psychiatric hospital
1935 et 2023
Registrations for Historical Monuments
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

The gate of honour and the bridge commanding the access of the castle; the facades and roofs of the castle and the two isolated pavilions that accompany it, with the outdoor courtyards and stairs; the main staircase and the service staircase inside the castle. : registration by order of 4 June 1935; The ramps of the bridge of access to the aisle of honour; facades and roofs of the two entrance pavilions (including their bases); terrace covers of the basements of the castle (excluding the addition of concrete built out-of-work on the south-east façade in 1955 at the site of the former orangery); all the rooms constituting the ground floor of the castle as well as the three remaining vertical circulations from the basement to the attic (scaling, secondary staircase, service staircase in the old waiting room); the two basement levels including the old kitchens and their outbuildings; all underground galleries that connect the castle to its pavilions, as well as the one that controls access to the well (including this one); The entire Cardinal Pavilion (including its former theatre and the gallery serving it from the outside); the facades and roofs, the main staircase and the basement of the domestic pavilion (including the old washhouse, the cooler and its adjoining square); façades and roofs of stables and kennels, vegetable gardens and Bauffremont hunting lodges; the ruins of the dovecote. The castle is located 3 avenue de Bauffremont, on plots 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, shown in the cadastre section AO, all in accordance with the plan annexed to the decree: inscription by order of 9 November 2023

Key figures

Louis d'Outremer - King of the Franks Sitting the first castle in 951.
Étienne-Charles de Loménie de Brienne - Cardinal and Minister of State Commander of the castle, minister in 1787.
Louis-Marie-Athanase de Loménie de Brienne - State Secretary for War Brother of the cardinal, co-commander.
Jean-Louis Fontaine - Architect of the castle Designed the building inaugurated in 1778.
Napoléon Ier - Emperor of the French Lead the battle from the castle.
Princesse Théodore de Bauffremont - Owner in 1851 Acquire the castle after the Loménia.

Origin and history

The castle of Brienne-le-Château, also known as the castle of Loménia, is a residence of the second half of the eighteenth century, built on a terrace overlooking the municipality of Brienne-le-Château, in the department of Aube. It replaces an ancient medieval castle mentioned from 951, seat of the Counts of Brienne until 1356. A castral chapel dedicated to the Holy Cross was attested to in 1166, while ancient descriptions evoked a dungeon, stables, a press and gardens.

In 1640, Brienne County moved to the family of Loménie, which gained great influence at the Court under Louis XVI. Two brothers, Étienne-Charles de Loménie de Brienne (cardinal and minister of state in 1787) and Louis-Marie-Athanase de Loménie (secretary of state for war in 1787-1788), sponsored the reconstruction of the castle between 1770 and 1778. The architect Jean-Louis Fontaine designed a classical building inspired by antiquity, inaugurated on August 25, 1778. Earthworks are continuing to create a remarkable perspective.

In 1814, the castle was the headquarters of Napoleon I during the Battle of La Rothière. All his windows were destroyed during the fighting, and a legend reported that the emperor would almost have surprised Prussian General Blücher via undergrounds. The estate remained in the Lomé family until 1851, then passed to the Bauffremont until 1933. Abandoned after World War II, he was transformed into a psychiatric hospital in 1959, becoming the Public Mental Health Institution of Dawn (EPSMA).

The castle, of sober and homogenous style, was partially inscribed in historical monuments as early as 1935 (honor grill, facades, stairs) and extended in 2023 (subsoils, underground galleries, pavilions, stables). Among the protected elements are the old kitchens, a Cardinal Pavilion with theatre, and ruins like the pigeon tree. The building illustrates the neoclassical architecture of the eighteenth century, marked by ancient references and rigorous symmetry.

Future

The area of Brienne is converted into a departmental psychiatric hospital, now Public Institution of Mental Health of Dawn (EPSMA).

External links