Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Etrepy, located in the Marne, finds its origins in the twelfth century, with remains of a Gallo-Roman fortified work. The wide moats still visible today bear witness to this. After the Hundred Years' War, Johan de Nievenheim, from Cologne, acquired the seigneury in 1447 and undertook work, a brick tower of which remained the only vestige. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, Warin de Nievenheim rebuilt the castle, adding bossed bays and stone windows.

In 1741 Jean-François de Lorins and his wife Anne-Louise du Tertre radically transformed the castle into a marina. They appeal to the entrepreneur Claude Couchot to modify the pavilions, add roofs to the Mansart, and create a large lounge decorated with stucco. Courtine walls are removed, and a bridge replaces the old drawbridge. The castle then became an elegant residence, reflecting the architectural taste of the eighteenth century.

On September 6, 1914, the castle was severely damaged by incendiary projectiles during World War I. The roofs and interiors of the main house are destroyed. From 1917 to 1927, architect André Ventre oversees his restoration, allowing, in particular, the reconstruction of the stucco decorations of the large living room thanks to casts preserved before the war. Today the castle is owned by the family Ripert of Alauzier.

The castle is surrounded by moat fed by Saulx and presents a rectangular plan with an inner courtyard. Two pavilions, one serving as houses and the other housing a chapel, surround the entrance. A bridge crosses the moat east. The monument, partially classified since 2011, retains architectural elements from the 17th and 18th centuries, as well as traces of its medieval past.

Several noble families followed Étrepy, including the Nievenheim, the Cappellet, the Davy de Chavigné, and the Morillot. Among the personalities associated with the castle, Madame de Saint-Baslemont was educated there in the seventeenth century, while the Marquise de Tressan worked on its reconstruction after 1914. These families have marked the history of the castle by their transformations and their attachment to this Champagne heritage.

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