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Origin and history

The Château de Villars-en-Azois, located in the Haute-Marne department in the Grand-Est region, is a building whose origins date back to the 16th century, with a major reconstruction in the 18th century. It consists of a Louis XVI-style house body built between 1771 and 1780 on the foundations of an ancient fortified castle, and a 16th-century cylindrical tower, the only vestige of the "old castle" erected by Jean de Chastenay. This first castle, surrounded by moat, walls and towers, was partially destroyed in the 18th century because of its irreparable state.

The territory of Villars-en-Azois, historically integrated with Burgundy and then Champagne, was covered by the chestnut of Laferté-sur-Aube. The local lords, vassals of the Counts of Champagne and the Bishop of Langres, exercised complete seigneurial justice, including rights such as the obligation for the inhabitants to cook their bread in the furnace of the castle. An inventory of 1750, compiled by archivist Simon Bridot, lists 29 items detailing these privileges, such as high, medium and low justice, or the right to erect a three-pillar gallows.

The 16th century tower, restored in 1935 thanks to Thérèse Massin, Baroness d'Estocquois, illustrates the defensive architecture of the period with its thick walls, firemouths and murderers. The ground floor houses a monumental chimney with coat of arms hammered during the Revolution, while the first floor retains a remarkable structure. The present castle, the work of Jean-François Gabriel de Giey, Baron de Villars-en-Azois, has a sober facade decorated with a low pediment and two dome roofed wings. Since 1988, the building has been listed as historic monuments for its facades, roofs, tower and fireplace.

The seigneurial rights, strictly applied until the 18th century, reflect the feudal organization of the region. The inhabitants, subjects of the lord, had to pay royalties on land or agricultural transactions, and use seigneurial infrastructures as the common kiln. This system, documented by the archives of the bailiff of Arc-en-Barrois, bears witness to the power of the local lords, whose prerogatives extended to the judicial and symbolic power, such as the erection of patibular signs.

The castle, today privately owned, embodies the architectural and social transformations between Renaissance and the Enlightenment century. Its vegetable garden, located in the former moat, recalls the evolution of the uses of seigneurial spaces, while the conservation of the "old tower" offers a tangible testimony of 16th century military techniques. Registration for historic monuments in 1988 underscores its heritage value, combining medieval heritage and classical elegance.

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