Château-Porcien

Château-Porcien takes its name from a castle on a chalk cliff above the Aisne valley. The fortress was the seat of the lords of Porcien and endured many wars. In the fifteenth century Antoine de Croÿ restored the ruined castle, creating a stronghold with towers and a double circuit of walls.

The town's defences were repaired again in the 1590s. In 1615 a fire, driven by strong winds, ruined much of Château-Porcien; two years later the Duke of Guise besieged it for the French king, taking the fortified town after a fortnight. During the Fronde, Turenne captured the town for the rebels in 1650, and Condé took it in 1652. The castle eventually fell into ruin as weather and neglect took their toll.