Longwy Castle

Longwy Castle, locally known as the Vieux Château, lies in the town of the same name, in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in France.

The site of Longwy Castle, an elongated rocky promontory overlooking the confluence of the Chiers and Moulaine rivers, has been inhabited since probably the 6th century. It was the site of a little fortified village with a church and a tower house of the local lord in the 9th century.

During the next centuries Longwy Castle passed through the hands of Luxembourg and the Dukes of Bar until by the 16th century it had grown into a stronghold owned by the Dukes of Lorraine and was considered their 3rd most important castle.

During the 30 Years' War the castle was taken by the French after a siege in 1636. In 1670 it was again taken by French troops under Louis XIV. Louis ordered the castle to be razed to its foundations because he wanted to build a new citadel town a bit more to the north. Its stones were used in the building of the new citadel by Vauban, the famous military engineer.

In the 18th century a redoubt was built on the site of the old castle. This redoubt was replaced in 1884 by a new casemated redoubt, built according to the Séré de Rivières system. In 1914 this redoubt, armed with four 90 mm cannons, was bombed and destroyed.

In the second half of the 20th century limited archaeological excavations were carried out by local volunteers. They discovered and cleared the big tower, which is now thought to be the Chapel Tower, the foundation of a second tower and the curtain wall between these two towers.

Longwy Castle can freely be visited. Although the remains of the castle are scarce, the remains of the 19th century redoubt make this an interesting site.

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