The Palace after a drawing by Charles Fichot,
(c) G. Grosdoit-Artur
| Palace of the Counts and Church
Saint Etienne
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It was Count Henri Ist, known as Henri The Liberal, who decided to build, towards 1150, a new residence - the palace and its contiguous church, Saint Etienne but also the Hotel Dieu nearby - for the Counts of Champagne, on the current Place du Préau. His wife Marie, half sister of King Richard Ist "Cœur de Lion", welcomed literary men such as Chrestien de Troyes and Gace Brulé in this new palace, while Henri Ist was surrounded by theologists and historians. After the union of the Champagne County to the Kingdom of France, at the end of the 13th century, the palace was used for official ceremonies, until its demolition in 1806. |
