Coucy

Coucy's vast castle rose above the Ailette valley on a rocky spur, a display of the power of the lords of Coucy. Enguerrand III built the formidable fortress in the thirteenth century, with an immense keep and great towers. Within the walls stood a chapel and the lord's residence, overlooking the town below.

In the fourteenth century Enguerrand VII transformed the stronghold into a splendid palace, embellishing its great hall, the splendid Salle des Preux, with rich decoration. The castle later passed into royal hands. It fell to Calvinists in 1567 during the Wars of Religion, and in 1652, amid the Fronde, its governor refused to surrender it to Louis XIV. Cardinal Mazarin ordered the fortress dismantled; its ruins later served as a quarry.