Hesdin Castle
Renowned for its magnificent gardens and mechanical wonders, the castle was a prominent site until its destruction by Emperor Charles V in 1553.
Its automata, detailed in historical accounts and depicted in art by Loyset Liédet, exemplified the castle's unique charm.
Walter II, the last Count of Hesdin, rebelled against Flanders and saw his domain confiscated by Charles the Good in 1119.
This architect managed the county, bought large pieces of land to expand the park, and designed buildings.
After Robert's death in the Battle of the Golden Spurs, his daughter Mahaut, the new countess, ensured that the park was completed by 1306.
There was a menagerie, aviaries, fishponds, orchards, tournament fields, automata, an enclosed garden called Paradis, and a banquet pavilion on stilts.
The gloriette was a high, lavishly lit room or gallery with sculptures, paintings, an interior fountain, and automata.
In November 1355, English King Edward III led an invasion from Calais into northern France, supported by Flemish troops.
His army reached Hesdin, entered the park, and destroyed the swamp complex li Marés, but the city and castle were spared.
Around 1410, Hue de Boulogne was appointed painter and governor of the clock, cages, glass windows, and amusement engines of Hesdin, followed around 1450 by Pierre Coustain.
It was also the place where the three-year-old Margaret of Austria was handed over to the French in 1483 for her betrothal at the Château d'Amboise with the Dauphin Charles.
Decades later, Charles's son Philip II of Spain founded the town of Le Parcq on the northern part of the overgrown park.
[5] Furthermore, it has been suggested that the painting "Garden of Love" at the court of Philip the Good, preserved in two copies, depicts the swamp complex of Hesdin.
Among the mechanical wonders and natural beauty, which he cannot describe, he composes the lament "Tel rit au main."
François de Monceaux claimed in "Heden sive paradisus" that Hesdin was located on the site of the original Garden of Eden.
