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Origin and history

The castle of La Faloise, located in the department of the Somme south of Amiens, was originally a medieval fortress mentioned since 1327 as property of Jean de Montmorency. Destroyed during the Great Jacquerie in 1358, it was restored in the 15th century and served as a garrison for English troops at the end of the Hundred Years War. In 1441 he was taken by Philippe de Saveuse, captain of Amiens, before the Duke of Burgundy, then master of the cities of the Somme since the treaty of Arras (1435), ordered his destruction, partially executed.

In the 16th century, the castle passed to the families of Roye and then Bourbon-Condé, before being acquired in 1628 by Sully, minister of Henry IV. A local tradition evokes Henry IV hunting stays on site, although not confirmed. In the 18th century, it was sold successively to Louis Hurault de Vibraye, Louis du Gard, and then Joseph Alexandre de Bray, an Amienese merchant. In 1804, the Bourgeois family of Mercey became its owner until the mid-19th century.

On the architectural plane, the castle preserves a medieval poterne with a square tower flanked by pentagonal turrets, pierced with shooting slots and surmounted by three floors. A stone building, added at the end of the 18th century, opens onto a garden, while restorations were carried out in the 19th century. An octagonal dovecote and a drinker recall the former seigneurial farm.

Historical sources cite works such as La Picardie historique et monumentale (1900) and studies on medieval fortresses in northern France. The site is also documented by photographs by Édouard Baldus in the 19th century, demonstrating its heritage importance.

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