Louvigny Castle

Louvigny Castle, locally known as Château de Louvigny lies in the village of the same name, in the Moselle department in France.

Louvigny Castle was built around 1428 by Renaud de Gournay on the site of an earlier castle.

Apparently the castle fell under the Republic of the City of Metz and thus was besieged several times by the Duke of Lorraine during the 15th century. In 1444 that Duke was Rene I of Anjou, who had associated with the King of France. In 1489 the Duke's troops again wanted to lay siege to the castle but turned around when they were outnumbered by troops from Metz. In 1490 the Duke, Rene II of Anjou, returned with a larger army and took the castle.

During the 16th century the castle had several lords. They neglected its defenses and the castle was slowly transformed into a residence. In 1590, however, the conflict between the Metz Republic and the Duke of Lorraine, Charles III by this time, resumed. This resulted in troops from Metz driving the Lorraine garrison out of Louvigny Castle. The Lorraine troops, however, quickly returned and took the castle back. Only in 1604, in the Treaty of Nomeny, the castle was definitively attributed to Metz.

In 1633 the castle was damaged by Swedish troops. In 1635 the Lord of Seumeuze was the chatelain of Louvigny Castle. His descendants owned the castle until 1720 when it was sold to the De Fayolle family.

With the French Revolution the last Lords of Louvigny were expelled and the castle was confiscated. A few years later it was sold to Fr. Jacques Fristo, a refractory priest. His descendants lived in the castle until WW I. Then the castle was severely damaged and turned into a ruin.

At present Louvigny Castle can not be visited. Too bad, I am curious about its interior. It can partly be seen from the public road.

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