Château de Montmort

The château de Montmort is a grand country house that stands on the site of a medieval fortress in the Marne countryside. Its stone walls rise above old ramparts and ditches that date back to the 11th century. The present buildings were rebuilt in the 16th century and show early Renaissance features such as mullioned windows and flush towers once used for cannons. A later wing was removed in the 19th century, leaving the square plan with circular towers described in old records. The gatehouse with its brick turrets was added in the same period. The château played a key role in the First World War when it became the headquarters of Karl von Bülow’s German Second Army. During the First Battle of the Marne, Bülow and Helmuth von Moltke’s representative Richard Hentsch met here and decided on a retreat that changed the course of the war. Inside, vaulted rooms occupy the ground floor while the first floor holds a large living room whose skirtings were decorated in 1851 by Eugène Cicéri with fabrics inspired by Sébastien Bourdon’s engravings. The house is surrounded by a park and kitchen garden that have been protected as a historic monument since 2001. The grounds include the remains of the old castle’s defences and a ramp that once allowed horses to reach the upper levels. Victor Hugo once praised the lively mix of turrets, weather vanes, gables, skylights and chimneys that give the château its distinctive silhouette.