Château de Grand-Rullecourt, Grand-Rullecourt, France

The fortified Flemish castle château de Grand-Rullecourt with its towers and crow’s-foot gables overlooks the road from Avesnes-le-Comte to Lucheux. The lords of Rullecourt were the generous donors of land to the Abbey of Mont-St-Eloi. Joan of Arc passed there as a prisoner in 1430. Antoine-Constant de Hamel started to build the new castle in 1746.

After the French Revolution, the chateau was sold as a national asset. His grandson bought it back but couldn't afford to keep it. It later belonged to Captain Wallerand de Hauteclocque, who was killed during World War I. After the war, the property was sold in parts. Later rented as a holiday camp, the castle was left uninhabited for some time. The daughter of Mr. Voisin, Mrs. Buneau, sold the chateau to Patrice and Chantal de Saulieu and their children on 24 December 1987. Today Château de Grand-Rullecourt is a Bed & Breakfast hotel.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Adri Mühlrad (2 years ago)
GEWELDIG mooi kasteel in het gelijknamige Franse Grand Rullecourt. Simpel Frans ontbijt (wel lekker vers). Prachtige mooie grote kamers. Zeer vriendelijke eigenaren.

Edith Vermersch (2 years ago)
Endroit magnifique !! Accueil très chaleureux par Madame Saulieu et son époux, qui nous ont fait visiter les grandes pièces du rez-de-chaussée aux meubles et tableaux magnifiques. Avons logé dans la "Petite maison" (2 personnes) à l'entrée du château. Très grand lit et literie excellente, j'ai pour ma part beaucoup apprécié le "chauffage" au-dessus du matelas… C'est un endroit où nous aimerions revenir pour plus longtemps qu'une nuit… Beaucoup de respect et d'admiration pour ce couple qui a su redonner vie à ce beau château, patrimoine français.

Geoffrey Petitpas (2 years ago)
Nous avons fait nos photos de mariage, ma femme et moi, à ce château il y a un peu plus d'un an. Il semblait donc tout naturel pour nos noces de coton de passer une nuit là-bas. Le cadre est agréable et verdoyant. Les murs sont quant à eux chargés d'histoire, que les hôtes n'hésitent pas à nous conter au détour d'un mobilier ou d'un tableau. Les chambres sont magnifiques, pas de mobilier moderne (à part la bouilloire pour se faire un thé ou un café) et reste dans l'esprit du château, les salles de bain sont simple mais fonctionnelles. Le petit déjeuner est correct rien ne manque et pris dans la salle à mangé du château. Il est agréable de flanner dans le jardin ou le vergers. Bref dépaysement garantit. Les châtelains sont quant à eux très accueillant et reste humble malgré leur rend de vicomte et vicomtesse. On voit qu'ils sont passionnés et qu'ils aiment leur château. Ils ont passés une bonne partie de leur vie à le retaper eux même (et ils ont rien que ça, tout mon respect et toute mon admiration). C'est une adresse que recommande +++. Vous pouvez y aller les yeux fermés. Dommage que l'on ne puisse pas mettre plus de 5 étoiles.

Charles Petersen (3 years ago)
Wow, not many B&B offer this Grand Chateau setting, operated by a princess and a Viscount. The room was tastefully furnished in period style. Gracious grounds and a garden with tracts of lawn and fruit trees. Simply unforgettable.

David Bannatyne (3 years ago)
Beautiful place to stay run by a lovely woman. Breakfast was good enough and the rooms and bathrooms were clean and comfortable.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Dan Lundberg

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Hagios Demetrios

The Church of Saint Demetrius, or Hagios Demetrios, is the main sanctuary dedicated to Saint Demetrius, the patron saint of Thessaloniki. It is part of the site Palaeochristian and Byzantine Monuments of Thessaloniki on the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO since 1988.

The first church on the spot was constructed in the early 4th century AD, replacing a Roman bath. A century later, a prefect named Leontios replaced the small oratory with a larger, three-aisled basilica. Repeatedly gutted by fires, the church eventually was reconstructed as a five-aisled basilica in 629–634. This was the surviving form of the church much as it is today. The most important shrine in the city, it was probably larger than the local cathedral. The historic location of the latter is now unknown.

The church had an unusual shrine called the ciborium, a hexagonal, roofed structure at one side of the nave. It was made of or covered with silver. The structure had doors and inside was a couch or bed. Unusually, it did not hold any physical relics of the saint. The ciborium seems to have been a symbolic tomb. It was rebuilt at least once.

The basilica is famous for six extant mosaic panels, dated to the period between the latest reconstruction and the inauguration of the Byzantine Iconoclasm in 730. These mosaics depict St. Demetrius with officials responsible for the restoration of the church (called the founders, ktetors) and with children. An inscription below one of the images glorifies heaven for saving the people of Thessalonica from a pagan Slavic raid in 615.

Thessaloniki became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1430. About 60 years later, during the reign of Bayezid II, the church was converted into a mosque, known as the Kasımiye Camii after the local Ottoman mayor, Cezeri Kasım Pasha. The symbolic tomb however was kept open for Christian veneration. Other magnificent mosaics, recorded as covering the church interior, were lost either during the four centuries when it functioned as a mosque (1493–1912) or in the Great Thessaloniki Fire of 1917 that destroyed much of the city. It also destroyed the roof and upper walls of the church. Black-and-white photographs and good watercolour versions give an idea of the early Byzantine craftsmanship lost during the fire.

Following the Great Fire of 1917, it took decades to restore the church. Tombstones from the city"s Jewish cemetery - destroyed by the Greek and Nazi German authorities - were used as building materials in these restoration efforts in the 1940s. Archeological excavations conducted in the 1930s and 1940s revealed interesting artifacts that may be seen in a museum situated inside the church"s crypt. The excavations also uncovered the ruins of a Roman bath, where St. Demetrius was said to have been held prisoner and executed. A Roman well was also discovered. Scholars believe this is where soldiers dropped the body of St. Demetrius after his execution. After restoration, the church was reconsecrated in 1949.

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