June 26, 2023 - France
Sedan Castle
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We drove into Sedan and went right to the Castle which is where we were staying. We had enough time to tour the castle before checking into the castle hotel.
Sedan Castle is the largest fortified medieval castle in Europe. Construction started in 1424 and the castle's defences were constantly improved over the ages.
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Looking at the main entrance to the castle.
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Going through the very thick main entrance. On the right is the Castle Hotel where we stayed for two nights.
The castle was sold by the French Army to the city of Sedan for one Franc in 1962.
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The big castle courtyard. The Castle museum is straight ahead.
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An aerial view of Sedan Castle, which is the only remaining part of the once enormous fortifications in and around Sedan.
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| Map of the castle. |
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| We bought our tickets to visit the castle. The first part was walking around the outside. |
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On the southwestern rampart, also known as the "Cannon terrace" for obvious reasons.
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| The cannon is pointing out over the town of Sedan. |
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That's a lot of brick.
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| In 1521, Carles V, the almighty emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, master of Germany, the Netherlands and King of Spain, wanted to besiege Sedan. The reason why: Robert II de La Marck had dared to claim a few of his baronies. But the castle was so impressive that the emperor, despite his army of 34,000 men, gave up the siege and turned his anger to the neighboouring town of Mezieres. |
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| Looking out over Sedan. The twin towers belong to Saint-Charles Church. |
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A big trebuchet, ready to hurl things at any invaders. |
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| Another trebuchet. |
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In the distance, across the Meuse River (not visible), are the hills of La Marfee. They are a natural means of defense for the south of Sedan. In 1870, they were occupied by Prussian artillery.
The twin towers at right are those of Eglise Saint-Charles. When the Edict of Nantes was revoked in 1685, a decision by the Council of State gave the Protestant temple on the Place d'Armes to the Catholics, who transformed it into a church under the direction of Robert de Cotte, the brother-in-law of Mansard. In honor of Charles-Maurice Le Tellier, Archbishop of Reims, the church is named after Charles Borromée, who participated in drafting the Council of Trent, a founding element of the Counter-Reformation.
Its austere architecture is a mixture of Protestant character and monumental expression of classical churches. Its furniture, altars in the chapels and woodwork in the choir, is remarkable. Louis XIV financed the altarpiece with Ionic columns.
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| Looking down into the castle courtyard. The Castle Hotel has the flagpoles in front of it. |
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This part of the Castle holds the museum.
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A good look at the Castle Hotel.
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| In the upper courtyard are the ruins of the chapel Saint Martin from the 9th-century, leveled around 1830. |
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| Lynnette hiding in a secret room. |
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| I got caught littering and am being punished. |
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| Finishing the outside portion of the tour, we entered the castle's interior into the Princes Gallery. |
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| A boar's head looks down upon the Knights of the Long Table. |
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| Garcon, Garcon! Can we get some hot food here please? |
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Little busy right now, Sir. We're under attack!
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Getting the Princesses signiture on something.
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| She Who Must Be Obeyed. |
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| Plaster bust of Louis the 14th. The Sun King is dressed in an ancient costume, sporting a curly wig. The original bust is in the Louvre. |
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| In this painting, the victorious protestant Sedan army returns from the 1588 Battle of Douzy to the castle to be greeted by Charlotte de la Mark, princess of the principality of Sedan. |
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| This model of Sedan in the 18th-century, which took 17 years to build, shows the massive fortifications which surrounded Sedan then. The Castle is visible just right of center. The Meuse River is in the upper left hand corner. |
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On 31 August, 1870, the Prussians and their Allies assumed their positions on the heights surrounding Sedan, ready to attack it. The fighting started the next day. The superiority of the artillery of the German states subdued an exhausted, under-equipped French army. Napoleon III signed the surrender document on 2 September. This victory made the unification of Germany possible.
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| Timber roof. |
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| Portrait of Marie-Anne Mancini, Duchess of Bouillon, 1662. She is wearing the costume of the Greek hunting goddess, Artimis. |
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Fancy 19th-century helmets and swords.
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We checked into the Castle hotel and that night had a nice French dinner in the upscale Castle restaurant.
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| What the heck! |
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| Nice presentation! |
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| Our room in the castle. |
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| Check out the thickness of that wall. Definately a castle. |
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| Hanging out in the Castle Hotel lobby where the Wifi was strong and adult beverages could be had. We enjoyed staying in the castle. Something different. It was fun. |
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