Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de La Buissière finds its first traces in the 12th century, although the periods of attested construction date back to the 13th and 18th centuries. Originally, it was a pleasure home, frequented notably by Mahaut d'Artois, a famous countess, who made it one of his secondary residences in the 14th century. In the 15th century, the castle was strengthened: a enclosure surrounding two hundred acres of forest and an imposing rectangular dungeon were erected, transforming the place into a defensive fortress.

In 1662, the materials of the castle, then in ruins, were sold to Louis XIV for use in the construction of the city of Menin. It was only in the 18th century that Angel de Maulde, Marquis de La Buissière, restored the castle to its chandelier of Dantan by transforming it again into a marina. He restored the dungeon and added a house to it in square. The estate remained in Maulde's family until 1844, before going to the Riencourts, which kept it until the death of the last Countess in 1910, marking the beginning of a new period of abandonment.

In 1917, the Compagnie des Houillères acquired the castle and then sold it in 1964 to the Ministry of Justice, which ordered its demolition in the same year. Only the dungeon, half ruined, was saved in extremis thanks to its classification at the Historical Monuments by decree of 12 April 1965. Today, it remains as silent witness of nearly eight centuries of history, between aristocratic fascists and industrial decline.

External links