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Origin and history

The donjon de Day, located in the hamlet of Day in Neuville-Day (Ardennes, Grand Est), is an atypical medieval vestige with its dungeon on motte architecture, mainly dated from the 16th century. It is distinguished by its main tower flanked by a turret with a spiral staircase, and an adjacent building with a Mansart roof. The towers, covered with roof-closing roofs, house three floors: a lower room on the ground floor, a vaulted guard room on the first floor (laden with a fire place at the arms of the Bohan-Ligneville), and an upper room under a frame. Gunners and murderers pierce his walls, testimony to his defensive vocation.

The tradition attributes its initial construction to Sigebaud, Lord of Day and companion of arms of Saint-Louis during the first crusade (1243), although visible architectural elements date mainly from the 15th–12th centuries. Damaged by a hurricane in 1390, the castle was restored by the Bohans in the 15th century, a family that preserved it for two centuries. In the 17th century, he passed to the Marshal of Schulemberg, then to Marie d'Estoquoy, before being passed on to the Counts of Ancelet. A fire in the 18th century destroyed part of the buildings. Sold in 1828 to the Guilly family, the property changed hands several times before being restored in 1984 by Mr Fabrega. Listed at the Historic Monuments in 1987, the site remains a private property not open to the public.

Two legends mark his story: that of Regina, a niece imprisoned by his uncle Fodebert in the small tower, liberated by his fiancé Ingebrand from crusade; And that of Bucelin, a jealous lord who had locked his wife in the dungeon until his death. These stories may be inspired by real facts, such as the 1579 murder of Nicole de Villers by her husband François de Wignacourt, both related to the Bohan family. Rumors also persist on a hidden treasure and an underground passage to the castle of Mont-de-Jeux, although no tangible evidence was found.

Architecturally, the dungeon illustrates the transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, with its defensive elements (cannons, murderers) and its refined interior decorations (armored route, ogival vaults). Its location on a dominant hillside Neuville-Day makes it a major visual landmark of the Ardennes landscape. The excavations carried out in the 20th century by Mathilde Gilles, widow of the last owner before 1984, did not reveal any treasure, but helped to maintain the mystery surrounding this monument.

Today, the Day dungeon embodies both a remarkable architectural heritage and a reservoir of popular narratives, reflecting the social and family tensions of medieval and modern times. Its registration in 1987 underlines its historical value, although its access remains restricted, thus preserving its enigmatic and picturesque character.

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