CHÂTEAU DES ÉVÈQUES

To better defend its saltworks coveted by the Dukes of Lorraine and the Counts of Bar, Bertram, Bishop of Metz, built around 1200 a powerful fortified castle in Vic. His successors, in conflict with the Messinian bourgeoisie, transferred the seat of their temporal family to it and continually reinforced it in the 14th and 15th centuries. Originally the castle was designed on a polygonal plan (92 x 105 metres) flanked by semicircular towers. Destruction has been accumulating since 1815 and it is now only a romantic ruin. Nevertheless, one can still admire the new flamboyant gothic style gatehouse built at the beginning of the 16th century. It consists of two circular towers, 7 meters high, connected by a passage lined with machicolations on finely carved brackets. The 1.50-metre thick walls are pierced by gunboats with cruciform sights. The northern side of the castle still shows three sections of 12-metre high curtain walls. At the top, a parapet walkway in the thickness of the wall leads to a series of stirrup archers. A 20-metre wide ditch completes the defensive system. Permanent free access to the outside, free of charge, guided tour (paying) by reservation at the Tourist Office of the Pays du Saulnois at 03 87 01 16 26 or 03 54 77 00 15