Aulnois-sous-Laon Castle

Aulnois-sous-Laon Castle, locally known as Château-ferme d'Aulnois-sous-Laon, lies in a field next to the village of the same name in the Aisne department in France.

Although a lord of Aulnois was already mentioned since the end of the 12th century, the castle of Aulnois-sous-Laon probably dates back to somewhere between the end of the 13th and the end of the 14th century.

During the 15th century the fief of Aulnois first passed to a younger branch of the Coucy family and later to the Sarrebruck family. From 1430 to 1440 it was occupied by Burgundian troops.

Aulnois-sous-Laon Castle was owned by François de Bourbon, Prince of Conti, in the second part of the 16th century. He saw his castle ruined first during the French Wars of Religion, then by troops from Balagny in 1589 and finally by troops from Laon in 1591. After that it was probably never rebuilt and its remains were converted into a farm.

Originally, the castle, with its irregular quadrangular ground plan, was circled by a wet moat. The round corner tower is mentioned to have served as a keep, although I suspect the rectangular truncated building, left of the gate, was actually the keep.

As Aulnois-sous-Laon Castle is a working farm and private residence, it can not be visited. A nice rural castle, I especially like the remains of the buttressed turrets.

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