Commune de Châtenois

Châtenois has a glorious past : it became the first capital of the Duchy of Lorraine when, in 1048, the emperor gave to Gerard of Alsace the title of hereditary Duke of Lorraine. He who is also called Gérard of Chatenoy (after an ancestral castle near Neufchâteau) is the ancestor of the line of the following Dukes of Lorraine. He also gave birth to the biggest imperial and royal dynasty of Europe : the Habsburg-Lorraine.

Even though the castle, located on the heights of the village in a place called "Haut-Bourg", was destroyed in 1634, there are still several traces of it. The main building that bears witness to the distant 11th century is however located below, between the "Haut-Bourg" and the village that it overlooks : the Priory, founded in 1069 by the Duchess Hedwige of Namur. Located near the St. Peter's Church, which was rebuilt in the 19th cenutry on the site of a primitive Romanesque church, the priory was recently renovated thanks to the "Amis du Prieuré et du Patrimoine de Châtenois" association. Its tour is rich in history and in mysteries, in particular those of the never found graves of Hedwige de Namur and of Theodor II, son of Gerard, Duke of Lorraine, and founder of Neufchâteau.

Châtenois is rich in history, it is also called the "Petite Bretagne Lorraine" (Little Brittany in Lorraine), because of its high concentration of crosses and calvaries.

It is also rich in gastronomy, with its famous "Pâté Lorrain", traditionally celebrated each year at the popular Easter fair. The "Association des amateurs et producteurs du pâté lorrain de Châtenois" ensures the promotion and reputation of this culinary speciality, for which an application for a Protected Geographical Indication was recently filed.