Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Montaigu Castle was founded in the 17th century with a hermitage founded by Raphaël Hanzelin in 1608, including a chapel dedicated to Notre-Dame de Montaigu. Destroyed in 1793 under the Terror, the chapel was raised at the beginning of the 19th century by Nicolas Poupillier, then moved in 1931 to avoid the vibrations of the Paris-Strasbourg railway. The excavations conducted by Édouard Salin during this move revealed the foundations of the hermitage and choir.

In the 17th century, the Hauts de Bourgomay estate, owned by René Rennel (Chancellor of Lorraine's accounts), served as a hunting lodge. In 1757 Bon Prévost, Receiver General of the Lorraine Farms, built a marina to raise his daughter, Adelaide Edmée. The proximity of the Ducal Castle of La Malgrange, built by Stanislas Leszczynski in 1737, influenced this choice. The East facade, with its terraces and ironwork, still remains today.

Between 1860 and 1890, Marquis Maxime de Vaugiraud and his wife Joséphine Coralie Lebègue de Passoncourt transformed the house into a neoclassical castle, adding low wings, pavilions and Napoleon III style roof. The architect Albert Jasson is inspired by the castle of Asnières, while the ironworks of Jean Lamour adorn the west facade. In 1921, a fire ravaged the castle, recently acquired by Édouard Salin, archaeologist and collector.

The restoration, entrusted to Pierre Le Bourgeois, innovates with modern techniques (armed concrete, metal frame) while respecting the 18th style. Édouard Salin conceived the castle as an "artistic conservatory", combining archaeology, antique furniture and contemporary art. During the Second World War, the castle was partially occupied but preserved by Salin, as evidenced by the inscription Domus Servata on its facade.

Without descendants, Suzanne and Édouard Salin left the estate in 1979 to the City of Nancy and its collections at the Société d'Histoire de la Lorraine. Ranked Historic Monument (1957 for facades, 1998 for outbuildings), the castle reopens to the public in 2017 after decades of closure. Labeled Maison des Illustres in 2019, it celebrates today the Salin heritage, combining architectural heritage and eclectic collections.

The 14 hectare park, classified, houses the displaced chapel and archaeological remains. Nearby, the Iron History Museum, built in the 1960s, bears witness to modern developments in the area. The interiors of the castle, restored after the fire, house thematic rooms (music hall, work room) and flagship objects such as a harpsichord by Philippe Denis (1674) or an office of Jacques Dubois, cabinetmaker of Louis XV.

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