This website requires JavaScript.

When Joan of Arc turned up in Vez castle...

Joan, Vez chapel | Pline / CC-BY-SA
Fortification Castle Hundred Years War Joan of Arc Vez keep

Here’s a stunning contrast! The estate houses today modern art exhibitions, but the keep itself is pretty old!

Located at a very strategical place, Vez was, with neighbouring castles of Coucy and Pierrefonds, a line of defense, to the north of Paris, against Burgundian invasions.

And Vez was a pretty important city! King Pépin the Short in 755, and Charles the Bald in 844 gathered with bishops of France, for a council.

Then, counts of Crécy occupied the fortress during the Crusades.

In 1214, king Philippe Augustus gave it to marshal of France Raoul d’Estrées. This one raised a main building on the foundations of a former Roman camp.

In 1360, Jean de Vez, Raoul’s grand-grand-son, raised the big keep. A keep fortified and extended by Louis d’Orléans in the 14th century…

Hey, Joan of Arc arrived in Vez, in May 1430! The famous Maid turned up in Vez and spent her days to keep an eye on the horizon, from the high ″Joan of Arc’s tower″.

She even attended to the Mass in the castle’s chapel!

In the 17th century, lords of Vez abandoned the place and gave the estate to a farmer.

About the the author

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