Château de Dampierre

In the village of Dampierre, a few cubits from a monumental church, emerges, out of the running waters and the groves, an architectural and impressive ensemble, of such elegance that it seemed to belong only to the banks of the Loire or the valleys of the Ile-de-France. From these buildings, it still blocks today a wide esplanade bordered by high forests, and inflected on the sides. It is entered through a monumental wrought iron gate from the School of Nancy, in the 18th century, in the style of that of the Town Hall of Troyes. In this vast space, more than a hundred meters from it, stands out, high towards the sky, a square tower, quartered by 4 turrets with pepperpot or domed roofs. It has a very grand appearance and can be considered as one of the most beautiful specimens of French fortification of the 15th century. Formerly preceded by a drawbridge under which flowed the water from the ditches surrounding the feudal castle, now filled in and demolished, it was the entrance. It is crossed by a vaulted passage which leads to the main courtyard at the end of which stands out, over a length of 40 meters and a height of 28, a stone building with 2 floors pierced by 11 openings, including 3 on a barely projecting avant-corps, the whole topped with a Mansard roof with 3 dormers whose arch of the central one, attached to 2 flamed vases, alludes to the arms of the Picot de Dampierre. The contact of these two architectures, one feudal and defensive, the other pleasant and welcoming, makes this domain a privileged residence characteristic of an era without austerity whose majesty would have seemed even more powerful, if the formidable keep of the 12th century, demolished in 1810, still dominated it from its massive height. Land of invasion, this region has been trodden by the steps of conquerors throughout time: the Romans settled there, Germanic bands took root there, the Franks conquered it, feudalism made it a high-ranking lordship whose counts entrusted the guard to the most valiant of their vassals. It came under the castellany of Rosnay, and was itself the chief town of a castellany on which 70 fiefs depended. It was owned by important figures, lords of Saint-Dizier, viscounts of Troyes, constables of Champagne, from whom, through high-lineage alliances, several kings, emperors and princes of France, Spain, Austria, Germany and England came. Several dynasties succeeded one another. The founder of the first, that of Dampierre-Saint-Dizier, was Hildevent in 980. Through his marriage to Mahaud of Bourbon, his great-grandson Gui II gave birth to the Dampierre-Bourbon branch. On the death of his eldest son Archambaud, in 1219, whose daughter married Thibaud IV, Count of Champagne, King of Navarre, it passed to his brother William II. In 1223, William took Margaret of Flanders as his wife, who inherited the county in 1244, after he had died. She died in 1280, leaving one of her sons, Gui III, as his heir. With him began the Dampierre-Flanders dynasty. It was her granddaughter Philippine, wife of the English King Edward, who obtained from her husband the pardon of the burghers of Calais in 1347. The third son of Margaret of Flanders, John I, was Lord of Dampierre in 1250. In 1258, he left the castellany to his brother John II, who kept it until 1307. It then fell to his daughter Margaret, who, since 1305, had been the wife of Gaucher VI of Châtillon. With them began the Dampierre-Châtillon dynasty, which was made famous by Jacques I, Admiral of France, killed at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. It lasted until 1472 and disappeared with Valéran, whose eldest daughter had married in 1469 Philippe I de Lannoy, Knight of the Golden Fleece and Chamberlain of Charles V of Germany, who founded the Dampierre-Lannoy dynasty. The last male lord of this family, Pierre II, died in 1522, without leaving any children. He was buried in the church of Dampierre, of which his tomb is one of the most beautiful ornaments. His sister Jeanne, and her husband François d'Haraucourt sold it in 1526 to Louis Picot, Lord of Pommeuse, 1st President of the Court of Aids of Paris. Thus ended the uninterrupted line of descent of the holders of the seigneury and ceased to flow in the veins of the new possessor the blood of Champagne which, for 500 years, had invigorated the most illustrious families of France and Europe. Louis Picot introduced the Picot de Dampierre dynasty in the 16th century. Louis II held the title of baron. It was under his son Eustache, a man-at-arms, that around 1646 the barony was raised to a marquisate: François Picot, master of the cavalry camp, Jean-Auguste, ship captain, Pierre, brigadier of the king's armies, captain of the king's hunts and pleasures, passed this distinction down to the latter's son, Count Auguste-Henri-Marie, general of the armies of the Republic, who died for France in 1793. He had 3 boys and 1 girl. The marquisate passed to his son Charles, aide-de-camp to General Dessoles, under Napoleon I, his brother-in-law, peer of France, who had replaced him on the General Council, and who was gloriously killed, at the head of the Mobiles of the Aube, at the battle of Bagneux, in 1870. He had no children. The castle and the property of Dampierre then entered by descent into the Rochefoucauld family, because of Louise Picot, daughter of the general of the Revolution, mother of the wife of Jules de la Rochefoucauld, Duke of Estissac. Her son, Roger de la Rochefoucauld-Ségur, last Marquis of Dampierre, left it to his daughters, the Countesses of Kergolay and Amélie de Mérode, who parted with it in 1907 to sell it to the Viconte Beurret, a great collector of 18th century furniture and art, who undertook considerable restoration and decoration work in Dampierre. The castle returned to its original family in the 1930s when a branch of the Picot de Dampierre family, the Alignys, bought the castle and kept it until 2021. TOURS • Monday to Friday • From July 1st to July 30th then from September 1st to September 30th, 2025 • Heritage Days weekend on September 20th and 21st, 2025 • From 10am to 12pm then from 2pm to 6pm • At the rate of 10 euros per person Visits: all exteriors, interiors of the Châtelet and staircase/kitchen of the Château. 1-hour visit, reservation required for groups (call Guillaume Delpech at +33 6 29 02 92 36), reduced mobility accessibility for the park only.

Last updated on 17/03/2025 - Office de Tourisme du Nogentais et de la Vallée de la Seine