History

The Château de Fresnois was built in 1618 by Mathieu d'Awans, lieutenant governor of Montmédy.

The Dictionnaire généalogique et héraldique des familles nobles du royaume de Belgique, by Félix-Victor Goethals in 1852, provides information apparently linked to this construction:

Fresnoy, seigneurie and château, in the provostship of Montmédy, with high justice, held from the King of France, was ceded in full ownership by the lord of Mantelville to his cousin Charles-Fortuné van der Straten, who pledged faith and homage to the King of France on 2 March 1682 (deed of cession of this seigneurie to Oger-Jean van der Straten, on the occasion of his marriage to Marie-Lambertine de Marchin).

In the mid-17th century, the lands and château of Fresnois passed to the Reumont family.

In 1874, Louis d'Ansan d'Egremont and his wife Louise de Reumont undertook a major renovation of the old château and had it modernised by a Parisian architect in 1877, while preserving its Louis XIII style.

After the 1914-1918 war, the château came into the hands of Baron Charles d'Huart of Longwy, who in 1923 had a remaining wing of the 17th-century château demolished, keeping only:

• the 18th-century orangery;
• the entrance gate;
• the pedestrian door opening onto the village;
• the terraces descending towards the Chiers river.

In 2021, Baron and Baroness Frédéric d'Huart (cousins of the previous owners) bought back the château, bringing this estate back into the family. They remain its current owners.

In the media

The Château de Fresnois is a refined blend of this eclecticism. The park of this little Versailles is dotted with water features attesting to a deliberate staging of the château's setting. — excerpt from L'Est Républicain

In 2004, a film was shot there: The Best in the Jungle. The trailer is available here.