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:The church of the former Franciscan monastery was built probably between 1515 and 1520. It is located in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Old Rauma. The church stands by the small stream of Raumanjoki (Rauma river).
The exact age of the Church of the Holy Cross is unknown, but it was built to serve as the monastery church of the Rauma Franciscan Friary. The monastery had been established in the early 15th century and a wooden church was built on this location around the year 1420.
The Church of the Holy Cross served the monastery until 1538, when it was abandoned for a hundred years as the Franciscan friary was disbanded in the Swedish Reformation. The church was re-established as a Lutheran church in 1640, when the nearby Church of the Holy Trinity was destroyed by fire.
The choir of the two-aisle grey granite church features medieval murals and frescoes. The white steeple of the church was built in 1816 and has served as a landmark for seafarers.