In the heart of the Pays des trois frontières, at the gateway to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and close to the medieval village of Rodemack which was built to defend, the fortress of Preisch was destroyed in around 1680.

The present-day two-storey castle was built by Conrad de Soetern and Marguerite de Mérode in the early seventeenth century. The outbuildings were built at a later date and form two U-shapes around two courtyards, one before the château and the other before the farm. Since 1986, the feudal mound with its enclosure and moats, as well as the seigneury cross, the façades and roofs of the castle, the dovecote and gatehouses have been included in France’s supplementary inventory of Historic Monuments.

It has belonged to the De Gargan family since 1855. Charles-Joseph de Gargan (1831–1920) created the collection of objects that furnish the château. He acquired the different pieces during his travels in Italy, Austria, Portugal, Flanders and Palatinate. The interior of the castle was devastated and looted by the German occupation during the Second World War, but was renovated by Madeleine de Gargan (1928–2000), his granddaughter and mayor of Basse-Rentgen and a local councillor for 18 years.

Today, her daughter, Dominique Charpentier, has brought together works of art, furniture and objects from her paternal and maternal family. The Château de Preisch collection reveals Charles-Joseph de Gargan’s historicising approach, continued by his descendants in a property that is passed down from one generation to the next with the same concern for preserving and enriching the family heritage.

Classified as a Historic Monument, Preisch Castle’s chapel was built in 1773 by François de Lasalle.

When, in 1862, the chapel needed renovation, Charles de Gargan decided to transform the modest building and all the new parts were built in yellow Jaumont stone. He had a crypt dug under the chapel where his family members would be buried. He erected a bell tower with a 13-metre-high stone spire and had a sacristy built behind the altar. He also replaced the windows with stained glass creations commissioned from Mr Maréchal, master glassmaker in Metz. The floor was paved with a mosaic of fine marble and a white marble altar was commissioned from Mr Jacquemin. All the chapel’s decoration was inspired by sixteenth-century Renaissance monumental style.
On each side of the altar are two funeral monuments to the former lords of Preisch, the Schawenbourg. They come from the chapel of Saint John the Baptist in the old fortress and date from the sixteenth century.

THE POSSESSION CROSS

Located next to the chapel, this is also listed as a Historic Monument. The so-called “Possession” cross marks the taking of possession of the seigneury of Preisch by Sire Jean de Schawenbourg, provost of Luxembourg. This small monument was erected in 1514.

The coat of arms and weapons of the Schawenbourg house are sculpted on the base. It is known that previously, after being blessed, the seigneurial deeds were displayed to the vassals at the foot of the seigneury cross.