Droizy Castle

Droizy Castle, locally known as Donjon de Droizy, lies in the small village with the same name, in the Aisne department in France.

Droizy Castle was built in the 12th century by the Lords of Droizy on a limestone plateau. The main remnant of this castle is the ruined circular keep. With its height of over 22 meters it is the highest point of the Soissons district.

In the second half of the 13th century the first Lord of Droizy known by name was Jean de Villesavoye. The Villesavoye family was an important family during the Middle Ages. Jean served Philip IV of France during a campaign in Aragon. His descendants, almost all called Jean who were travelling knights, owned Droizy Castle until 1346.

From the beginning of the Hundred Years' War in 1346 until well into the 15th century the castle passed through several families by marriage as none of the Ladies of Droizy bore male children. Amongst others these families were; De Coucy, Vignoles and Courtenay. At the end of the 15th century the manor of Droizy became a vassal of the Villesavoye family.

In the 16th century Droizy Castle was turned into a farm. Up until the 18th century it was owned by the Villesavoye family. In the 20th century the farm stopped operating and the castle buildings were used to store abandoned agricultural machinery. Between 2001 and 2004 the castle was restored and is now used as a luxury hotel. The keep can only be visited on special occasions.

A beautiful keep, too bad I could not visit its interior. And I would love to stay at the hotel one time but I'm afraid it's a little above my price range.

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