Mercy

Last week we had reason to go to Mercy Hospital at Metz.  It is a new hospital which has been built alongside an impressive chateau situated high on a hill top.

The chateau, in neo-classical style, looks very old but I discovered it was built in 1905 - not the 1700s we first imagined.

In the past, ownership of the Moselle region had been switched back and forth between Germany and France. Whilst under German annexation plans were carried out to make Metz a showcase of Wilhelmine architecture.  Many Francophile owners responded by building French-inspired buildings to face the spread of the Germanic style and the Chateau at Mercy illustrates this resistance.

The widow of Maurice Coetlosquet fulfilled his desire for the building in 1905 and
in 1919 the area again became French.  But in 1940 the area was again annexed by Nazi Germany and the chateau was used as a hospital for German soldiers. In 1944 the area was returned to France and the building was then used by the staff of the Royal Canadian Air Force until 1966 and became the property of the French Army in 1968. In 2000, it was sold  along with the land for the proposed new hospital. The chateau was then sold to an investor for restoration in 2012.

It is a beautiful building and good to know it will be saved for future generations to enjoy.