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A little history of Herisson castle

The castle | Yvon Toucassé / CC-BY-SA
Castle Herisson castle

Hérisson castle used to protect the road known as gué de l'oeil ("Eye's ford"), former name of river Aumance. This sandstone castle had 7 round towers, 4 only are still standing.

Mentioned since the 11th century, Hérisson was lords of Bourbon's fief, then in 1172 counts of Champagne's property. The castle stayed in this family until 1284 and it fell to countess of Champagne and queen of Navarre, Jeanne, who married Philip of France.

Then, the castle was owned by Bourdon family, who entirely restored it in the beginning of the 15th century. In the 16th century, the fortress belonged to Diane of France, Henri II's daughter.

During the Fronde, in 1651, marshal de Saint-Géran besieged it and demolished it after... 5 weeks! He besieged it on November 22th. But Hérisson resisted! Troops decided to destroy the mill which gave water to the castle. On December 9th, the castle surrendered. Inside, there were 38 soldiers, 6 officers, 300 quintal of powder, meat, wine, bullets, one thousand rifles...

Then the fortress fell to Condé, then to duke d'Aumale. The Touring-Club of France restored it and gave it to Hérisson village.

About the the author

Vinaigrette
I'm fond of strolls and History, with juicy and spicy details!