The Château de Montpoupon is named after a Germanic tribe, the Poppo, who settled here on the rocky promontory at the time of Charlemagne. The site thus came to be known as Mons Poppo (the hill of the Poppos).With the passage of time this evolved into Montpoupon.
At the end of the Middle Ages, the château passed into the hands of the Lords de Prie et de Buzançais, a family who were to leave their mark. In 1460, Antoine de Prie and his wife, Madeleine d’Amboise restored the château which had been left in poor condition at the end of the Hundred Years War.
In 1763 the Marquis de Tristan, Mayor of Orléans acquired the property. The Marquis turned his hand to restoring the château to a semblance of its former glory. However, his initiative was curtailed by the onset of the Revolution; fortunately despite the terror of the time, only the chapel was destroyed and the château remained intact. In 1840 the château underwent further transformation at the hands of its new owner, M. de Farville with the construction of the present outbuildings.
Finally, in 1857, Jean Baptiste de la Motte Saint Pierre acquired the estate. At the turn of the century the family began the work which was to restore the château to the Renaissance appearance it has to-day. In memory of his family, the present owner, the Count of Louvencourt, nephew of the above, has set up the magnificent Musée du veneur (Hunting Museum) in the outbuildings.
References:Kakesbeck is one of the largest medieval fortifications in Münsterland and the oldest castle in Lüdinghausen. The imposingly grown complex originated in 1120 as a motte, a small hilltop tower castle. After numerous changes of ownership, the castle was extended onto two islands, but it was not until the 14th century that it underwent significant alterations and extensions under the von Oer family. The estate experienced its heyday in the middle of the 18th century, when it covered an area of almost one square kilometre and consisted of five further outer castles in addition to the core castle, which were secured by ramparts and moats.
The well-maintained condition of the castle today is thanks to the late Wilfried Grewing, the former lord of the castle. The foundation named after him has been particularly committed to preserving the property since 2020.