Villette Castle

Villette Castle, locally known as Château de Villette, lies west of the city of Sedan, in the Ardennes department in France.

The Warigny-d'Aguisy family owned a medieval castle here. This castle was probably destroyed in 1552 when the troops of Maarten van Rossum, a Dutch field marshal in the service of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, ransacked the small town of Villette. In the following decades it was rebuilt.

During the 17th century the castle was rebuilt. Cardinal Mazarin is said to have stayed in Villette Castle shortly during the Fronde of the Princes between 1650-1653.

In the 18th century Villette Castle was acquired by Jean-François Maucomble, Lord of Glaire. He also rebuilt the castle and gave it its present appearance. The Maucomble family discreetly lodged the Bishop of Sedan, Nicolas Philbert, in their castle during the Reign of Terror in the French Revolution. He died here in 1797.

In the 19th century the castle was owned by the Kistemann family, who were wool merchants from Sedan. They also modified the castle. After the Second World War Villette Castle stood empty for a couple of years before it was restored again.

Villette Castle is private property but I do not know what the present state of it is. When I visited it looked like a private residence but on the internet I later found out it was available as a holiday apartment. A very nice little castle. The castles of Bellevue and Sedan and the Old Subprefecture are nearby.

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