Dasyproctidae

The castle of Coucy is a strong Château builds as from the 13th century on a rocky outcrop dominating the valleys of the Oise and the Ailette.
It is located in France at the limit of the Laonnois and the Soissonnais on the commune of Coucy-the-Castle-Auffrique, in the Département of Aisne.
It is a Historic building pertaining to the State.

History

The first mention of a castle with Coucy goes back to 920: it is about simple a Motte castrale built by Herve, the bishop of Rheims. With 11th century, it is Albéric (or Aubry) which seizes this first castle, and becomes the founder of the dynasty of the lords de Coucy.

In the neighborhoods of 1220, Enguerrand III of Coucy builds the castle whose ruins are currently still visible. Wanting to compete with the kings of France, he spent an enormous fortune in the construction of this castle to the colossal Donjon whose Purple-the-Duke will say: “ Near this giant, the largest known towers, either in France, or in Italy, or Germany, is only spindles ”.
Towards 1380, Enguerrand VII embellishes and improves the fortress by arranging vast rooms and by equipping it with a palate of Gothic architecture.

In 1400, Louis of Orleans, wire of the king Charles V '' Wise the '', acquires the field of Coucy to supplement the defense of sound Comté of Valois which had been set up in county-peerage in 1344.

At the end of the War One hundred Year old, in winter 1411, during the Civil war between Armagnacs and Burgundian, the castle is besieged for three months by 600 men-at-arms under the control of Waléran of Luxembourg, the Count of Saint-pol. to the orders of Jean Ier of Burgundy, Duc of Burgundy. Robert d' Esnes (known as Mansart ), defender, will go fault of vivres.

He is attached to the royal crown in 1498, under the reign of Louis XII.

During the Sling, the castle, occupied, refuses to subject to Louis XIV. This last orders its dismantling and its abandonment. What is made in 1652 under the control of Mazarin.

September 18th 1692 an earthquake split the gross tower top in bottom.

With the Revolution, the dismantled castle is sold like Bien National and becomes a stone quarry.

The State buys the site in 1829. The ruins of the castle were then consolidated by the architect Purple-the-Duke at the 19th century.

During the First World War, the town of Coucy-the-Castle-Auffrique was occupied during 3 years by the German armies. In 1917, at the time of its return to the line Hindenburg and although that this did not justify a strategic point of view, they decided to destroy the strengthened site. 28 tons of Cheddite were placed in the keep and more than 10 tons in the turns of the castle. For the three main doors of the city, smaller loads were used. The explosion occurs on March 27th, 1917. At the same time, the town of Coucy-the-Castle-Auffrique was bombarded and devastated by artillery shootings. A few front days, on March 19th 1917, the castle of Ham had undergone the same fate.

The ruins of the castle are the subject today of work of restoration and of the archaeological excavations allowed to put at the day a vault. The site is opened with the visit.

Description

detailed Article : Description of the castle of Coucy by Eugene Purple-the-Duke

Built on a calcareous rocky outcrop, the castle consists of a rampart connecting four turns, thus forming an irregular quadrilataire. One reaches it by the Basse-cour, after having crossed the borough of Coucy and crossed the carries of Master Odon .
The castle and its enclosure include/understand:

  • the tower Jacquet
  • the tower of the Oats
  • the tower of the west
  • the tower of the artillery
  • remainders of a church
  • ruins of the keep
  • ruins of the home
  • ruins of the vault seigneuriale
  • the big room
  • the cellars

Its Donjon measured 31 meters in diameter for 54 meters in height, which made of him, and this until 1917, most important of Europe. It exceeded of 20 meters that of the castle of Louvre. Partially surrounded by ditches, one reached it by a Pont-levis.

The keep and most of the castle was destroyed by the German army, on March 27th 1917. The stones of the keep form today a compact heap among which one can see the large iron bars which ringed the keep.

The ramparts of the sides north and south are still in the course of restoration in 2007.

The two turns of the western side of the farmyard (between the tower of angle and the castle itself) are ploughed up. Currently, a walk which skirts the outside of the ramparts makes it possible to guess the architecture of the ogival type of it and to découvir there a small herd of goats using the ruins like ground of climbing.

This way with the foot of the walls is well emphasized: the grass is mown there and a parapet (constituted by a low fence of braided branches) makes it possible to announce around, in a concentric way, the danger of the very stiff slope towards the valley. This development of the site is centered in addition on:

  • the presence in many places of the strengthened village (thus for example with the doors ) of flags and streamers
  • medieval costumes carried guides, in particular during many animations
  • of the spectacles (its and light, reconstitutions various).

See too

Related articles

  • Description of the castle of Coucy by Eugene Purple-the-Duke

  • List of the lords of Coucy
  • Coucy

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