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Built in 1590 on the remains of the old fortified castle destroyed during the Battle of Arques, the Miromesnil castle is the testimony of four centuries of architectural history. The simple lines of the Henry IV style south façade contrast with the decorative profusion of the Louis XIII monumental north facade.
Despite the succession of numerous landlords, the castle has kept its decorative elements from the past centuries: wooden panels from the XVII and XVIII century. The furniture (sofas, chest of drawers, wardrobes) relates life in the castle in the XVIII century. On the ground floor of one of the tower, a small lounge has been reorganised in a XIX century style, to recall the presence of the Maupassant family between 1849 and 1853.
The chapel Saint Anthony in the castle park was built between the XV and XVI century. The door is mounted with an arch, only decorative element of quite a sober general aspect. Its austere outside contrasts widely with the richness of the inside. Four XVI century statues in painted stone stare at the visitor when they enter the sanctuary. The stain glasses, from the same period, represent a Blamed Christ in the centre, and the landlords atthe time on the sides. Three contemporary stain glasses, made in 1964 by Guy De Vogüé offer an abstract representation of the Christ Passion. Finally, the chapel is entirely decorated with wooden panels and stucco ornaments. You can find an altar in oak and a fence made by a local blacksmith (Le Chien) from the XVII century. It was used by the monks from the Fécamps abbey until the revolution.
Today Château de Miromesnil is a hotel with beautiful gardens.
References:The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.
The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.
The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.