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Origin and history

Foisches Castle, nicknamed Templar Farm, is an old strong house built in the early seventeenth century, although its name mistakenly evokes the order of the Temple. The building, organized around a rectangular courtyard and flanked by three corner towers, mixes stone and brick, with rare openings except agricultural doors. Its East façade, dated from the initial construction, is distinguished by an exceptional decor in Ardennes: lintels and windows supported by Givet blue stone, joined by bandels, as well as seven arcades in the middle of the hanger resting on columns partially carved of grotesque heads, today hammered. Other parts of the building were redesigned in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The location of the castle-farm, at the foot of a hill of Foisches (Ardennes), near the church Saint-Martin, reflects its defensive and agricultural role. Originally owned by the Templar family, it was erected after 1558 by the captain of Hierges, following the destruction of the village during the fighting between Charles Quint's troops and France. In 1640, the attack on Charlemont by the armies of the Marshal of the Meilleraye again damaged the building, which was restored in the 1670s, including its chapel. He was transformed into a farm after the Revolution and was also used as a dwelling for officers at Fort de Charlemont before his classification as a historical monument in 1991.

The architecture of the castle-farm illustrates a transition between military function and agricultural use, typical of the Ardennes. Local materials (Givet blue stone, bricks) and defensive elements (angle towers, closed courtyard) recall the repeated conflicts in this border region. The East façade, with its arcades and its neat layout, bears witness to a rare stylistic influence for the time, while the subsequent renovations adapt the building to agricultural and military needs, thus preserving its legacy until today.

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