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Presentation
Chateau de Nesles was built in 1226 by a great grandson of Louis VI, Comte Robert III de Dreux, on a plan almost identical to the royal Chateau of Dourdan and that of the original Louvre, probably as a show of power and royal blood.
Built on a plain, the fortresss eight round towers and 60m long walls form a perfect square courtyard. An imposing dungeon, 55m in diameter, is set slightly apart from the chateau and is surrounded by the wet part of the moat. Within the walls of the courtyard there is a handsome XVth century stone and brick manor house.
Happily nothing has been changed from the original fortress, only the height of the towers, partially dismantled in the XVIIth century. Nesles-en-Dole presents a very rare example of a building of this period that allows us to see the original unmodified architecture and its defensive structure.
Having been in the family of the Comtes de Dreux et de Braine, the chateau passed through the families de Chatillon, dOrleans, de Montmorency and other Lords. During the Hundred Year War, it was besieged, in vain, for four years by the English (1421 1424). It was during this period that Guillaume de Flavy, governor of Compiègne, who was accused of having betrayed Jeanne dArc to the English, inherited Nesles. Then having served as a refuge for the Huguenots, the crenalleted roof and upper floors were dismantled. After that the buildings were used for agricultural purposes.
Fierce fighting took place around the chateau, during the second battle of the Marne in July 1918, between the American General MacArthurs Rainbow Division and the Germans. Bearing witness to this is the important American Memorial 1Km away.
Listed as a Monument Historique in 1922, partially restored in the 1970s, the beautiful chateau of Nesles-en-Dole today offers a romantic and charming setting, leaving no impression of its colourful history.
The château let at your disposal its beautiful reception rooms for family events, receptions and weddings.
