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History Visit Remnants of war Information History Visit Remnants of war Information History Visit Remnants of war Information ▲ ▲ ▲ English Coucy, the remnants of war Glossary Château de Coucy A vast region pillaged in 1917 Apron wall: a low wall encircling the base of a tower mprimé en France 2019. to reinforce its defences. I Rise and fall of a colossal fortress Occupied by the Germans since September 1914, the Canopy: an architectural structure covering a statue. Château de Coucy fell under the Operation Alberich Traducteo. Fronde: the last revolt of the nobility against the royal Construction and splendour retreat zone designed to shorten the Front and power, during the early rule of Louis XIV, from 1648 disconcert the Allied offensives in the spring of 1917. to 1653. traduction The castle was built around 920 by the Archbishop The evacuated territories of the Aisne, Oise, Somme Mason’s mark: a symbol carved on stone by masons, of Reims and was extended in 1079 by the Lords and Pas-de-Calais departments were entirely pillaged who were paid by the piece, in order to receive of Coucy. and destroyed. their pay. arie-Hélène Forestier. arie-Hélène Forestier. M Around 1220, Enguerrand III fortified the town and Portcullis: a vertically-closing iron or wooden grille built the current castle with Dunkerque to close off a passageway. its huge keep. Enguerrand VII Worthies: a theme inspired by the Bible, Antiquity and converted the building into a Lille the Middle Ages to exalt the chivalric ideal. These heroes BELGIUM réalisation graphique sumptuous palace in the 1380s. Arras were David, Judas Macchabeus, Joshua, Caesar, Alexander Cambrai Purchased by Louis d’Orléans, the Great, Hector, Charlemagne, King Arthur and Péronne it was besieged by the Burgundians in 1411. Amiens Saint-Quentin Godfrey of Bouillon. On the accession of Louis XII, it became the property Lady Worthies: figures from mythology, the female Laon of the Crown. Francis I incorporated a new dwelling Coucy-le-château equivalent of the male Worthies Compiègne *. and modernised the town’s fortifications. Up until Les Armées Françaises dans la Grande Guerre, Guerre, dans la Grande Armées Françaises Les Soissons nationaux. des monuments Centre Reims the reign of Louis XIV, only a few garrisons remained Verdun Practical information at the site. 50 km Paris illustrations According to According 1922-1939 Average length of visit: 1½ hours. german strategic retreat Turmoil and destruction Replis stratégique allemand occupiedZone Unaccompanied or guided tours. Frontthe Front au 15 at avril 15 April 1917 1917 zoneoccupée Gift and book shop The Fronde* brought about the demolition of Why destroy the ruins of the castle? The guide for this monument can be found in the Itinéraires collection the castle by Mazarin in 1652. In 1692, an earthquake and is available in the gift and book shop. struck the keep, resulting in the first crack. During There are two competing interpretations: the French the Revolution, the ruins were seized and considered Centre des monuments nationaux press accused the Germans of vandalism; the German as national property before their acquisition by Château de Coucy newspapers cited the removal of lookout posts for nationaux. des monuments Rose / Centre © Caroline Louis-Philippe in 1829. In 1856, the castle and the outer Rue du Château military purposes. bailey came under public ownership, at which point 02380 Coucy-le-Château-Auffrique As of April 1917, plans were put in place to declare Viollet-le-Duc initiated consolidation works on tél. 03 23 52 71 28 crédits photos the ruins ‘a memorial to barbarity’. To avoid this the keep. [email protected] permanent state of ruin, the town of Coucy merged with Auffrique-et-Nogent in 1921, now the current The castle and the Great War ‘lower town’ area, to initiate its reconstruction. The www.chateau-coucy.fr www.monuments-nationaux.fr need for remembrance, which was felt very keenly On 20 March 1917, during the strategic retreat along at the time, minimised the restoration of the castle. the Hindenburg Line, the German army lay waste to the village then blew up the four towers of the castle and the keep using 28 tonnes of explosives. *Explanations overleaf *Explanations overleaf History Visit Remnants of war Information ▲ 10 11 11 7 The castle courtyard, from right to left, was 8 N N 12 8 surrounded by large galleries, the residence, the chapel and the great hall. All of the buildings were destroyed 14 7 before the French Revolution. 6 10 7 8 The lordly residence was accessed via an impressive 9 spiral staircase. The monumental Lady Worthies 4 13 * 12 fireplace adorned the main room. It served as the 14 2 5 inspiration for the fireplace at the Château de 6 3 Pierrefonds in the 19th century. 9 The Seigneurial chapel was located on the upper A reception floor. Like the other dwellings, the ground floor was 14 gift and book shop used as a storeroom or access corridor. 1 B toilets 5 viewpoints was decorated with alcoves featuring B 4 10 The great hall A sculpted canopies* that housed the statues of the Nine Worthies*. 11 The Tour de l’Avoine houses an underground The Château de Coucy stands on the furthest point 3 The Louis d’Orléans kitchens, to the far north, dungeon. Its arrow loops were later widened to of a rocky spur 60-metres high overlooking the valley dating from 1403, were discovered thanks to recent accommodate canons. of the River Ailette. excavations. 12 The Tour de la Poterne defended an entrance in The fortified enclosure is divided into three parts: the moat wall to the west. A spiral staircase led to the town, the outer bailey and the castle or inner The inner bailey its five floors. bailey. 13 This staircase led to the vaulted cellars of the The castle and the outer bailey belong to the French 4 The entrance to the castle, protected by a moat, castle, where the sculptures from the stone yard are State and have been opened to visitors by the Centre was overlooked by the keep and its apron wall*. presented, as well as to the basement level of the des monuments nationaux; the town’s ramparts are A drawbridge and two portcullises* closed off the Tour de la Poterne. private, communal or departmental property. vaulted passageway, above which Francis I constructed 14 Three of the defensive towers on the south side This fortress is made from Lutetian limestone, his royal dwelling around 1540. of the ramparts are accessible, including the so-called a sedimentary rock taken from local underground 5 The Artillery Tower walls are 5.30m thick. Its 20m Terrace Tower that affords a unique viewpoint over quarries. It contains many fossils. diameter largely exceeded that of the royal keep at the valley. Engraved on the stone blocks, the mason’s marks* the Palais du Louvre. attest to the vast worksite in the 13th century. 6 The keep, currently buried under the huge pile of stones, was built to extraordinary dimensions: 1 The outer bailey housed the castle town in the 54m high, 31m in diameter, with walls measuring Middle Ages, a former village that gradually disappeared 7.50m thick. to make way for a service yard. Defended from the In the 19th century, Viollet-le-Duc surrounded the south and west by numerous towers, its access was keep with metal strips that can still be seen today protected by the Porte de Maître Odon gate, which in order to consolidate the structure. was destroyed during the 1411 siege. Although the ruins of the castle were cleared as 2 The Saint-Remy Romanesque Church was of 1925, this mound remains as a testimony to cleared during the consolidation works undertaken by the destruction. Viollet-le-Duc. The current ground level corresponds to the Medieval period. *Explanations overleaf.

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