Châtel-sur-Moselle
Encyclopedia
Châtel-sur-Moselle is a commune
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...

 in the Vosges
Vosges
Vosges is a French department, named after the local mountain range. It contains the hometown of Joan of Arc, Domrémy.-History:The Vosges department is one of the original 83 departments of France, created on February 9, 1790 during the French Revolution. It was made of territories that had been...

 department in Lorraine
Lorraine (région)
Lorraine is one of the 27 régions of France. The administrative region has two cities of equal importance, Metz and Nancy. Metz is considered to be the official capital since that is where the regional parliament is situated...

 in northeastern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

History

With its commanding position alongside the Mosel River, located at the junction of the three main Roman roads and at the end of the Trans-Burgundy highway, Châtel played a strategic role throughout its long history up to 1940-44 during World War II.

From the year 1072 until 1373, it belonged to the Earls of Vaudémont, related to the House of Lorraine. It then became the property of a most prominent Burgundian family, the Lords of Neufchâtel, after the wedding of daughter Alix de Vaudémont with Thiebaut VII of Neufchâtel-Burgundy.

It became the centre of a wide territory which supported the Burgundian cause for years.
In 1544, the House of Lorraine gained possession of Châtel, thus ending a legal wrangling between Elisabeth of Neufchâtel's heirs. Then the fortress stood up against the French invasion during the Thirty Years War and changed hands nine times.

It was finally completely dismantled in 1671 on Louis the XIV's orders.

Built on the edge of a jutting limestone promontory alongside the Mosel River, surrounded by dry ditches 63 yards wide (57 m), the castle dominated the medieval town and its surrounding walls with its twelve towers and two main gates.

The first structure, built during the XIth and XII th century, showed a single rectangular keep. It was enlarged during the XIII th century and further extended in the XV th century to become one of the most important places in the area, with a unique attempt to match the evolving needs of modern artillery.

Two curtain walls, with a total combined length of about one mile (1.4 km), comprised not less than 22 towers. A sophisticated network of storerooms and galleries completed the fortress' defenses and allowed communication between the castle, the town downwards, and the river banks.

External links

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