Marie, Marithé, Gérard and Alain are from Manomo. They live a hundred meters as the crow flies from the castle of La Grange, near Thionville. They therefore know this large eighteenth-century mansion well.And century, but still wanted to kick off the guided tour of the major restoration project that the building has benefited from since 2020. A first time for the public who, as part of the European Heritage Days, is invited to participate and take you part in the work. For this, Compagnons du Devoir and specialized craftsmen in charge of the renovation exhibit and transmit their know-how, such as the specialists of Maddalon (carpentry, roofing, etc.) or France-Lanord & Bichaton (masonry, stone cutting, etc.) ). Safety helmets on their heads, the four inhabitants of Manomo listen carefully to Valérie Kennel, the castle manager. “The scaffolding is moving, it’s normal,” she warns. And she sets off on a tour of the owner, starting with the west facade, completed after two years of construction. Raw plaster, door frames, door frames, slate roofs, chimneys, weather vanes … it was all there! “The windows were a century old. Closed or open, you couldn’t see the difference! We change them all, which will undoubtedly reduce our fuel bill. Up to now, 20,000 liters were consumed every winter. “
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Christian and Theo with sculptural chisel
A total of around 100 windows will be replaced. White, oak, double glazing (after negotiations with Drac), with black partitions. Total invoice? “That’s 6,000 euros for the large window,” says Valérie Kennel. She has been working at the castle for 20 years. Inevitably, the latter has no more secrets for her. Well almost! She hasn’t told her whole story about her yet. “We often find things between floors,” admits Valérie. “Old boots, press articles on syphilis, postcards of the IIIAnd Reich, etc. »While Valérie continues the inspection at high altitude, on the ground Rui and Cédric, the carpenters of Maddalon, are busy cutting and laying the slabs. An exercise impossible to show on the roofs. For safety reasons, but not only. “We are just attacking the backbone of the east facade,” confides Cédric. “There are six months of work. Later, Vincent, the stonemason from France-Lanord & Bichaton, helps Christian and Théo carve a block of stone. The two brothers aged 5 and 2, recently arrived from Provence, know the Lorraine heritage. It is not easy for them to handle the chisel and the mass! If you want to handle tools too, know that the castle is still open to the public this Sunday, September 18th.
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