Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Montaiguillon is a castle built at the end of the 12th century by the knights of Saint John of Jerusalem. Located in Louan-Villegruis-Fontaine, it is one of the few unmodified medieval sites, maintaining its original architecture. A legend evokes undergrounds linking the castle to Provins, although this remains unconfirmed. Its strategic location, near an ancient Gallo-Roman road linking Troyes to Senlis, made it a key defence point for this major commercial axis.

The building of the castle is part of the intervention of Philippe Auguste in Champagne, during the minority of Thibaut IV. The royal architects, having also worked on the medieval Louvre, designed Montaiguillon with similar architecture. At the same time, Blanche of Navarre strengthened the defences of the region, as at Mont-Beloved. In the 14th century, the Templars occupied the fortress, before it passed to the knights of Malta after their trial.

During the Hundred Years' War, Montaiguillon was the scene of famous seats, especially in 1433, when Nicolas de Giresme and Denis de Chailly took him back to the English. Key figures like Barbazan, Lahire, or Prigent de Coëtivy fought there. In 1595 the castle passed to the house of Choiseul, then to M. de Villemonté. In 1613 Louis XIII ordered his destruction by explosives to eliminate any threat, leaving a tower bent but intact. The ruins, classified in 1875, were sold in 1718 to the Marquis de Saint-Chamans, whose son emigrated in 1792. Today, the site, considered "haunted" since the unsolved murder of its guard in 2002, remains on sale.

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