Asfeld

Asfeld was a village formerly called Ecry where the Vikings were defeated in 883.

On November 28, 1199, a tournament was held in Ecry, in which several of Pope Innocent III's papal legates recruited Theobald III, Count of Champagne, the tournament host, Louis of Blois, Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester and Reynald of Montmirail for the Fourth Crusade. Historians have debated whether one of the Pope's most controversial papal legates Fulk of Neuilly was one of the aforementioned recruiters.[6][7]

In the Middle Ages, the Lords of Escry built a fortified residence. It was passed to the Grandpré family then to the Bossut. The chateau suffered numerous assaults: in 1359 it was sacked by the troops of Edward III riding from Calais to Reims then again by the Burgundians around 1425.

In 1625 it was again attacked by Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine, profiting from the Fronde to plunder Champagne and threaten Île-de-France.

In 1671, Jean-Jacques de Mesmes, Count of Avaux bought the fief of Ecry after it had been devastated by these successive invasions to complete his territory. The main town of Ecry was then renamed Avaux-la-ville.

Jean-Jacques de Mesmes stimulated the local economy by establishing a weekly market and two annual fairs. He strengthened and enlarged the chateau and its approaches.

In 1680 he decided to build a new church as the existing church was in a particularly bad state. This construction was part of an overall plan for the surroundings of the château.[8] The new church building was blessed on 15 June 1685.

On 20 March 1728 Claude François Bidal d'Asfeld bought the County of Avaux which was created from Avaux-le-Château, Avaux-la-Ville, Aire, Vieux, and Vauboison. In 1730 this lordship was raised to a marquisate. Avaux-la-Ville, which had been called Ecry until 1671, again changed its name and took the current name of Asfeld.

Claude François Bidal Asfeld was Lieutenant-General of the armies (equivalent to General of division of the King and Director-general of fortifications, succeeding to this function from Vauban.

At the same time, Nicolas Bidet from Reims, a winemaker and author of a botanical treatise on the nature and the culture of grapevines, became Lord of Juzancourt, now a hamlet in Asfeld commune.

The son of Claude François Bidal d'Asfeld, Claude Étienne, the second Marquis of Asfeld lived mainly in Paris but had strong relationships with the inhabitants of Asfeld. The French Revolution of 1789 accentuated the conflicts.

The gates of the château were forced open on 13 June 1790. The Marquis of Asfeld condemned the leaders but on 25 August 1792, hearing of the fall of the monarchy, mobs again entered the property of the Marquis and symbolically burned his Charter.[8] The Marquis preferred to emigrate to Aachen following the French Revolution. His assets were seized and sold as Biens nationaux (national property). The castle was demolished the following year. The church was spared.

During the Revolution the commune took the name of Écry-le-Franc or Escry-le-Franc.[9]

In 1814, during the Battle for France, the region of Berry-au-Bac in Asfeld was the scene of fighting between Field Marshal Blücher, the Duke of Ragusa, and General Ricard.[10]

In February 1848 a native of Asfeld, the botanist Jean-Baptiste Payer, participated in the revolutionary events in Paris, became Chief of staff for Lamartine then enjoyed a burgeoning popularity in his native region and was elected MP for Ardennes in the French Second Republic although it was ephemeral.

At the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century the construction of railways was encouraged by freight traffic from the sugar beet industry. Spurred by the brothers Jules and Désiré Linard, the railway was quickly built and created potential for further diversification for farmers.

Throughout the 1914-1918 war the area was close to combat zones until the final days[11] and suffered extensive damage. In 1940 after the breakthrough at Sedan in May, it was along the Aisne and in particular at Asfeld that a line of defence against the German invasion was attempted to be organized in early June without much success. In the years that followed, resistance movements emerge, such as the FTP.

• The Church of Saint-Didier (17th century)[15] contains a:
  • Painting: The Martyrdom of Saint-Sebastian[16]
• The Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Pitié contains a Sculpture of the Virgin of Pity[17]

• 
  Church of Saint-Didier
• 
  Entrance to the Church of Saint-Didier
• 
  Plan of the church
• 
  Choir of the church
• 
  The church organ
• 
  The main Altar
• 
  Stained glass in the church
• 
  Table in the church
• 
  Chapel of Notre-Dame de la Pitié

Claude François Bidal d'Asfeld