Donchery is a town in the Ardennes department, in the Grand Est region, 5 km west of Sedan.
Crossed by the course of the Meuse to the south, dominated by hillsides culminating at an altitude of over 400 m, covered with forests in the north where it borders on Belgium, its territory of 27 km² is particularly green, composed of 42% forest and 32% grassland.
A fortified village in the Middle Ages, with a market from 1005, Donchery was the last town in France when the principality of Sedan was created. When it was reinstated in the kingdom, in the first half of the 17th century, Louis XIV had the ramparts of Donchery razed to the ground. However, the town was to experience many other misfortunes: in 1870, it was in a house in the town that Napoleon III met Bismarck to negotiate his capitulation, which he signed the next day in Sedan. In August 1914, part of the houses were destroyed by the German army and in May 1940, it was partly in the town that the enemy divisions crossed the Meuse despite the presence of French casemates.
Nowadays with a little over 2,200 inhabitants, Donchery served by the motorway has healed its wounds, restored its heritage and highlights a broad range of leisure activities within the framework of its very green environment.
Although very affected by the world wars in the 20th century, the parish church of Saint-Onésime remains the jewel of the municipal heritage. Protected as a historical monument since 1911, it was built in a Romanesque style in the 12th century, then adjoining a priory founded in the 9th century. The latter has disappeared. Remodeled in the 16th century with typical elements of Flamboyant Gothic coexisting with Roman pillars decorated with leaf capitals, the church houses a marble high altar from 1665 with three statues, stalls and a pulpit from 1678, the woodwork of the choir and the organ case dating from the 18th century. However, it is also the museum of statuary housed in the old sacristy which gives all its interest to the site: a remarkable collection of statues evoking the evolution of Christian art in northern Champagne is presented there via a modern scenography, with light effects and soundtrack. The mechanism starts up once a single euro coin is inserted. Open every day. Information on +33 3 24 26 00 89.
Still to be seen on a religious level, the church in the hamlet of Dancourt, which dates from the 13th century and was once a parish. It was badly damaged in 1914.
In terms of civil heritage, the Château du Faucon estate, on the road to Vrigne-aux-Bois, was built in the 17th century and its outbuildings have Mansart-style stables. The property surrounded by a 28 hectare park belonged to a family of industrialists (the Evain). It is now a luxury hotel establishment.
The Château du Sautou (19th century), in the middle of the forest, to the north of the town, the Château de la Croix Piot, to the south, on the coast overlooking the Meuse, are also worth a look. The so-called Maison du Tisserand, route de Sedan, where Napoleon III met Bismark in 1870, private, the former guardhouse, in the village, which houses the historic circle of Donchery and which turns out to be the oldest building in the locality, elements of the 14th century ramparts, which were noted in the 17th century, conclude this rich panorama.
For amateurs, the Briancourt ponds (Vrigne-Meuse road) and the old Hautes Bornes ballast pits are suitable for fishing, as is the Meuse. Find out about the regulations on +33 3 24 26 01 80.
For athletes, at Domaine du Faucon, a Golf Cross has been created, a discipline imported from New Zealand in the 1990s which combines the spirit of golf… and rugby ball ! Open every day. Price: from 25 euros. Information on +33 3 24 41 87 83.
Donchery finally has a very rich potential dedicated to hikers. A circuit is devoted to the Croix Piot site, on the hillside overlooking the village and the Meuse, to the south. A small chapel and an orientation table are located there and the panoramic view over the valley of the Meuse and that of the Bar, its tributary, is remarkable. From Croix Piot, trails lead to the surrounding forest.
Another orientation table is set up on the hamlet of Monthimont, with a view of Sedan and the Iges loop where the French prisoners were directed after the defeat of 1870. In fact, thematic hiking routes are also available. dedicated to the wars and fights of 1914 and 1940 (known as "Memory circuit"), and in another genre, loops are drawn in the forest in the north of the territory, on the edge of the Belgian and French Ardennes massif…
Finally, pedestrians or two-wheelers can at Donchery take the greenway built on the edge of the Meuse, which looks like a ribbon covered with bitumen and secured on the old towpaths. This route connected to the network of European cycle routes is 85 km long in the Ardennes department alone.
Maps and information for hiking on +33 3 24 56 06 08.
And for those who would like to discover Donchery and the Ardennes during a horse ride, you must contact the equestrian center of Beaulieu located in the town at +33 6 44 14 06 69.
