Photo : Michel Teiten www.mablehome.com / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5)
Château de Cons-la-Grandville
The Château de Cons-la-Grandville occupies a rocky promontory in the heart of the village, in a bend of the Chiers, in the Meurthe-et-Moselle. The present château stands on the foundations of a fortress built by Dudon de Cons, companion of Godfrey of Bouillon on the First Crusade, and has notable Renaissance features.
The site forms a wider heritage ensemble. The Benedictine priory, founded by Dudon and his wife Hadwige, was rebuilt in the 1760s by the architect Laurent-Benoît Dewez; its outbuildings include a bread oven of 1609, a dovecote of 1688 and an 18th-century barn. The blast furnace, protected as a historic monument since 1974, recalls the iron industry modernised in the 19th century by Lucien de Lambertye; production stopped after the war of 1870.
A botanical park with its 'fabulous trees' completes the ensemble. The VALOR association restores it and brings it to life with guided tours, events, Heritage Days and unusual accommodation.
