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Origin and history

The Château de Vaudémont is a castle built in 11th century for the Counts of Vaudémont, probably under Gérard I (1071–around 1120). It stands on a rocky spur at an altitude of 480 metres, overlooking the plain of Saintois. The Tower of Brunehaut, an ancient rectangular sectional dungeon (24 × 16.5 m), is the most visible part of the primitive castle. Built with the use of Gallo-Roman steles, it is dated from the first quarter of the 11th century, even from the 10th according to some analyses. Its walls, 4.5 metres thick at the base, testify to its major defensive role.

Over the centuries, the castle is enlarged and reinforced by walls and towers, while the town develops around it. Sitting in 1635 during the Thirty Years War, he was partially dismantled in 1639 by order of Richelieu, during the French occupation of the Duchy of Lorraine. The Tower of Brunehaut, already in poor condition (falls reported as early as 1493), was damaged in 1497 and 1529, then restored in 1930 after its classification as Historic Monument in 1840.

Today's remains also include the Guet Tower, a 200-metre-long faubourg ditch, and portions of courting. The site preserves traces of the three phases of development of the city: the primitive castle, the medieval city, and the suburbs. The nearby hill of Sion provides the stone used for its construction. The castle, formerly a Comtal residence, illustrates the defensive architecture of Lorraine and its turbulent history, linked to the conflicts between Lorraine and France.

The collegiate Saint John the Baptist, founded in 1326 by Henry III of Vaudémont as a Comtal Funeral Chapel, was destroyed in 1762. The parish church of Saint-Gengoult, rebuilt in 1748, replaces a Romanesque building documented in 1195. The village, classified as a rural commune, now has 70 inhabitants and retains a heritage linked to its medieval past, such as the village well or the poterne of betrayal.

Among the personalities related to Vaudémont are Marguerite de Lorraine-Vaudémont (1463–1521), born in the castle, and Jean Hugo (1648–1731), ancestor of Victor Hugo, born and married in the village. The Barrès monument, a lantern of the dead inaugurated in 1928 on the road to Sion, pays tribute to Maurice Barrès, a Lorrain writer inspired by the hill of Sion, emblematic site of the coast of Moselle.

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