Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Launois-sur-Vence horse post relay, built in 1654, was an essential stage point on two major axes: Sedan-Paris via Mézières and Charleville, and Stenay-Aubenton, connecting the North and East of France. This relay, also remains of the Royal Messageries, welcomed travellers, goods and teams, with increasing traffic: a weekly carriage Paris-Sedan in 1762, then a daily diligence at the beginning of the nineteenth century. His activity was linked to the Charleville arms factory and the transportation of salmon to Versailles, as evidenced by the motto on the armband of a postillon.

The Potier family, dynasty of postmasters, had been running the relay since its creation. In the 18th century, they owned a stable of twelve horses and supplemented their incomes with agriculture, using fumes and fodder to maintain their cavalry. Despite the loss of their privileges during the Revolution of 1789, they retained control and acquired national property. The decline in the 19th century, replaced by the railway, led to its closure. Transformed into a farm, it was restored at the end of the 20th century by a heritage association and today attracts 60,000 annual visitors.

The architecture of the relay, in an open quadrilateral, includes the home of the postmaster, stables, a hall with wooden stages (work of the Ardennes carpenters' companions), and a sheepfold. The hall, designed to optimize horse rotation, housed a 48-hour care and rest circuit per animal. The vaulted cellars, grain attics and outbuildings now house an orchard of ancient varieties and a rose garden from INRA research. Ranked a historic monument in 1994, the site illustrates the ingenuity of the postal relays of the Ancien Régime.

Future

The relay was restored at the end of the 20th century by an association of cultural animation and then of preservation of the heritage, now owner of the place.

Today it hosts 60,000 visitors per year.

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