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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Mareuil Castle was built in the middle of the 18th century in Mareuil-sur-Ay, in the department of Marne, on the initiative of Jean-Baptiste-Nicolas Thomas de Pange. The latter, seigneur of Domangeville, received the seigneury of Mareuil-sur-Ay as a wedding gift and had a Louis XV style castle erected between 1765 and 1774. The red brick walls, added between 1771 and 1774, recall the family castle of Pange en Moselle, thus marking a personal touch to the building.

After the death of Jean-Baptiste-Nicolas and his wife, their four children, including Anne-Louise de Domangeville, inherited the castle. This place becomes a reception centre for personalities such as poet André Chénier or moralist Joseph Joubert. However, family disputes led to the sale of the estate in 1788 to the Duke of Orléans, future "Philippe Egalité", guillotine in 1793.

In the 19th century, the castle changed hands several times before being acquired in 1830 by the sons of Marshal Lannes, Duke of Montebello. The latter developed a major vineyard activity, creating the champagne Alfred de Montebello and even welcoming the tsar Nicholas II of Russia in the 1890s. The estate then passed into the hands of various owners, including René Chayoux and Jean-Michel Ducellier, before being bought by Jean-Jacques Frey, who completely renovated the castle after having ended the Montebello brand.

The architecture of the castle, designed by the architect Chevotet between 1771 and 1774, is distinguished by the use of bricks in chains and bay frames. The communes, organized in a U-plan, once housed the champagne production facilities. The park, redesigned in 1896 by landscaper Édouard Redont, includes an 18th-century cooler, an orange shop, and two walled vegetable gardens dating back to the late 18th century.

The castle, its communes, its park, and its outbuildings were listed as historic monuments on November 5, 2003. Today, the site retains remarkable elements such as the central tower, decorated salons, and cellars, testimonies of its rich aristocratic and winemaking past.

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