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Archaeological site of Mont-Saint-Germain in Châtel-Saint-Germain en Moselle

Patrimoine classé
Sites archéologique
Éperon barré
Moselle

Archaeological site of Mont-Saint-Germain in Châtel-Saint-Germain

    Route de Verneville
    57160 Châtel-Saint-Germain
Site archéologique du Mont-Saint-Germain à Châtel-Saint-Germain
Site archéologique du Mont-Saint-Germain à Châtel-Saint-Germain
Site archéologique du Mont-Saint-Germain à Châtel-Saint-Germain
Site archéologique du Mont-Saint-Germain à Châtel-Saint-Germain
Site archéologique du Mont-Saint-Germain à Châtel-Saint-Germain
Site archéologique du Mont-Saint-Germain à Châtel-Saint-Germain
Site archéologique du Mont-Saint-Germain à Châtel-Saint-Germain
Site archéologique du Mont-Saint-Germain à Châtel-Saint-Germain
Site archéologique du Mont-Saint-Germain à Châtel-Saint-Germain
Site archéologique du Mont-Saint-Germain à Châtel-Saint-Germain
Site archéologique du Mont-Saint-Germain à Châtel-Saint-Germain
Site archéologique du Mont-Saint-Germain à Châtel-Saint-Germain
Site archéologique du Mont-Saint-Germain à Châtel-Saint-Germain
Site archéologique du Mont-Saint-Germain à Châtel-Saint-Germain
Site archéologique du Mont-Saint-Germain à Châtel-Saint-Germain
Site archéologique du Mont-Saint-Germain à Châtel-Saint-Germain
Site archéologique du Mont-Saint-Germain à Châtel-Saint-Germain
Site archéologique du Mont-Saint-Germain à Châtel-Saint-Germain
Site archéologique du Mont-Saint-Germain à Châtel-Saint-Germain
Site archéologique du Mont-Saint-Germain à Châtel-Saint-Germain
Site archéologique du Mont-Saint-Germain à Châtel-Saint-Germain
Site archéologique du Mont-Saint-Germain à Châtel-Saint-Germain
Crédit photo : Aimelaime - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Âge du Fer
Antiquité
Haut Moyen Âge
Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
200 av. J.-C.
100 av. J.-C.
0
700
1200
800
1700
1800
1300
1900
2000
IVe–IIe siècles av. J.-C.
Iron Age Village
4e millénaire av. J.-C.
First Neolithic Occupation
Fin VIe–VIIe siècles
Merovingian necropolis
1190–1220
Construction of the Episcopal Castle
1235
Destruction of the castle
1760
Abandonment of the priory
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Parcelles B 207, 210, 212, lieudit Saint-Germain, 58, 60, 62, placedit Le Pas d'Ane, 251, placedit Saint-Germain, 203, 209, placedit La Macherette, 59, placedit Le Pas d'Ane, 199, placedit La Macherette: inscription by order of 26 November 1993 - Parcelles B 66, 67, 69, placedit Le Pas d'Ane, 216, 224, 229, placedit La Macherette : inscription by order of 10 May 1995 - Parcelles B 56, 57, 61, 63, 64, 68, placedit Le Pas d'Ane, 185, placedit Saint-Germain, 186 to 188, 190, placedit La Macherette, 191, 201, placedit Saint-Germain, 192 to 194, 197, 198, 200, 202, placedit La Macherette, 204, 206, 208, 211, placedit Saint-Germain, 213, 218 to 220, 222, 223, 226, 228, placedit La Macherette, 231 to 235, 237 to 244, 246, 252, 253, 255, 261 to 264, placedit Saint-Germain, 708, placedit Les Grandes Friches : order of 17 March 2003

Key figures

Jean d’Apremont - Bishop of Metz (early 13th century) Commander of the castle destroyed in 1235.
Étienne de Bar - Bishop of Metz (XII century) Confirms the property of the church in Saint Vincent.
Poppon - Abbot of Saint Vincent (1026) Post a pre-existing church at *Castels*.
Alexandre III - Pope (XII century) Summon the holiness of the priory in his bubbles.

Origin and history

The archaeological site of Mont-Saint-Germain, located in Châtel-Saint-Germain en Moselle, is a barred spur overlooking the Moselle Valley at 306 metres above sea level. Occupied as early as Middle Neolithic II (4th millennium BC), it was a strategic place of continuous monitoring and habitation, with remains attesting to an uninterrupted human presence until the 16th century. Excavations conducted between 1967 and 1991 revealed flint tools, iron-age house foundations, and a Gallic rampart ("Gaulian wall") protecting the invasion site.

In the Gallo-Roman era, the mountain served as a refuge against the invasions of the Alamans and the Franks, as evidenced by fragments of tiles, torchis and coins. From the end of the sixth century, a Merovingian necropolis developed, with 370 burials including sarcophagi carved in stone. A Christian chapel, now extinct, was probably built there, as suggested by crosses and a belt buckle engraved with the names Peter and Paul. The site also became a place of worship with a priory and a castle built by the bishops of Metz between 1190 and 1220.

The castle, destroyed in 1235 after the War of Friends between the Bishop of Metz and the Messins, marked the end of the military occupation of the site. In the 12th century, the priory of Saint Vincent and the castle coexisted with artisanal structures (lime ovens, metallurgical workshops). The priory declined from the 15th century before being abandoned in 1584 and finally abolished in 1760. The archaeological remains, partially classified as Historical Monument in 1993 and 2003, offer an exceptional testimony of successive occupations, from the first Neolithic communities to the Mediomatrics and Merovingians.

Mont Saint-Germain also played a role in modern conflicts: a German fortified group (Feste Kaiserin) was built there in 1899 and used in the two world wars. During the Second World War, a Soviet prison camp (Ostarbeiter) was set up in the woods of the Reposoir in 1942. Released in 1944, the site retains traces of these occupations, adding a recent historical dimension to its millennium heritage.

Today, the site is accessible via marked trails to discover the ruins of the priory, the ditches of the barred eperon, and elements such as the lime oven or the chapel Notre-Dame du Gros Chêne. It illustrates the evolution of fortification techniques, funeral practices and daily life in Lorraine, from Neolithic to contemporary times.

External links