Château de l'Echelle

Two towers from the 14th and 15th centuries, round and imposing, appear on either side of the dwelling, which was remodelled in the 17th century under Louis XIV. A beautiful corner watchtower, resembling that of Wartigny, carried by nine consoles, known as the "massacre tower", evokes a tragic event of the Thirty Years' War. Many cannonballs were discovered there. Note the eight iron cannonballs embedded in the masonry. This watch is dated "1604". A quarter of the population was executed when the Spaniards passed through in 1643. A wide brackets, carried by six brackets, surmounts the entrance door of the courtyard. A door with a low profile, framed by Tuscan pilasters, ringed and vermiculated, a pediment indented to house a nude painting. The wings are topped with Mansard-style roofs. The side towers feature several gunboats, most of which are located on the upper levels and are oriented to take up the enfilade façade. The firing apertures are fine and elaborate. The cornices are modillioned or heeled (concave). Under the Ancien Régime, the castle belonged successively to La Marck, Nettancourt, Saint-Léger, Baulmont and Petit. As for it, L'Echelle passed into the hands of the lords of Balham, Suzanne, Menchi, Maulcourt, Antoine de La Marche-le-Comte, Calvinist, who, from 1597 to 1640, ruled the principalities of Raucourt and Sedan. In 1719, Colonel de Saint-Léger ceded the terre de l'Echelle to the chapter of Reims.