Photo : Chatsam / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Château Mennechet
The astonishing Château Mennechet, at Chiry-Ourscamp in the Oise, was reduced to ruins in the Great War. Its façade, which survived intact, is now listed. The front of this ruined, overgrown building intrigues anyone passing on the departmental road. The remains, which have something of a Hindu temple about them, cannot be visited but are worth a look through the gate.
In 1880 Alphonse Mennechet de Barival (1812-1903), mayor of Chiry, began building a museum to house his collection of paintings, sculptures and faience. Unfinished when he died, the Neo-Renaissance château was severely damaged during the Great War. It has remained in that state ever since, and there was even talk of dismantling it.
