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Origin and history

Lafauche Castle, located in the Haute-Marne, is an ancient castle built at the top of a hill. It was girded with 1.5 metre thick walls and flanked by eighteen towers, offering a solid defense. Reconstructed at the end of the 15th century by Jean de Baudricourt, baili de Chaumont, it was designed to resist artillery seats, inspired by Burgundy citadels such as Dijon or Beaune. Its strategic position, at the border of the Kingdom of France against the Duchys of Bar and Lorraine, made it a key military defence point.

The castle included an imposing three-storey dungeon, accessible by a stone staircase decorated with the coat of arms of France. Four lower round towers surrounded, connected by covered stairs. A castral chapel, dedicated to Saint Andrew and founded in 1495 by Jean de Baudricourt, was near the dungeon. The lower yard housed a large kitchen, a large room, and a well. Deep undergrounds, including prisons in the Lardier Tower, complemented this defensive ensemble. Two drawbridges allowed access to the enclosures, while advanced structures on the surrounding hills reinforced its protection.

The first castle, probably built in the 11th century, was the centre of a major barony until the Revolution. Lafauche then depended on the diocese of Toul, the bailiwick of Chaumont and the provost of Andelot. The seigneury passed into the hands of several influential families: the Lafauche (XII–XIVth centuries), the Baudricourt (XVth century), and the Amboises after the death without heir of Marshal Baudricourt in 1499. In the 18th century, the banker Antoine Crozat acquired the estate, before he passed by alliance to the Marshal of Broglie on the eve of the Revolution.

The family of Lafauche, attested from the twelfth century, included among its members Hugues III the Black (1187–1237), married to Béatrice de Bourlémont. Their descendants, such as John II of Lafauche (married to Jeanne de Charny in 1290), continued the line until its extinction. Jean de Baudricourt, a prominent figure of the 15th century, modernized the castle thanks to his fortune and his military experience. After his death, his niece Catherine of Saint-Belin, wife of John IV of Amboise, inherited the barony. Later, the Lorraine-Chaligny and then the Crozats became owners, illustrating the strategic and economic importance of the site.

During the wars between Burgundy and Lorraine, the castle resisted a siege led by the troops of Charles the Temerary, testifying to its defensive effectiveness. The current remains, such as the works of the Châtelot or the Franco-Lorrain coat of arms on the Griffons Gate, recall this turbulent history. The chapel, the underground and the remaining towers offer an overview of its military and seigneurial architecture, typical of the fortresses of the late Middle Ages.

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