La Horgne-au-Sablon Castle

La Horgne-au-Sablon Castle, locally known as Château de la Horgne-au-Sablon, lies in a wooded field in the town of Montigny-lès-Metz in the Moselle department in France.

La Horgne-au-Sablon Castle dates back to the 14th century. It was a possession of the Saint-Clément abbey in Metz and served as the seat of a high ranking cleric. In 1372 it was burned down by the King of Bohemia.  In 1404 it was in the hands of the Louvé family.

In 1552 the neighboring city of Metz was going to be sieged by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. In September during preparation, the French defender of Metz, Francis, Duke of Guise, demanded Claude de Gournay, occupant of La Horgne-au-Sablon Castle, to leave his castle. When De Gournay refused, the Duke's soldiers looted and ruined the castle. In November Charles V arrived at the castle. He set up headquarters in the ruined castle and took up accommodation in a room in the large corner tower. In January 1553, unable to take Metz, Charles V raised the siege and left the castle. The castle was never rebuilt.

In 1944, during the Battle of Metz, the castle and the surrounding area were bombed, severely damaging the ruins. The remains were vandalized in the following decades.

What remains at present is a piece of wall with a doorway with a plaque above it, the ruined corner tower in which Charles V is said to have stayed and a small building.

The site of the ruin is fenced off and therefore not accessible. The doorway and the tower can be viewed from the public road.

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