Château de la Montagne
A fortified Baroque palace on Saint Kitts.
Governor Phillippe de Longvilliers de Poincy built this Baroque fortified palace in the 1640s on Saint Kitts. Known also as the De Poincy Château or the Château de la Fontaine, it stood in Saint Peter Basseterre Parish until an earthquake leveled it in 1689. It was considered one of the Caribbean's finest homes.
Quick Facts
- Building type
- Palace
- Location
- Saint Peter Basseterre Parish, Saint Kitts
- Construction began
- 1640s
- Destruction date
- 1689
- Owner
- Phillippe de Longvilliers de Poincy
- Material
- Stone and brick
- Floor count
- 3
Facts from the source article.
History
In the early 1640s, Phillippe de Longvilliers de Poincy, a French knight of the Order of St. John and governor of St. Christopher, bought the La Fontaine estate for 110,000 livres. The property sat on high ground with a view of Basseterre, and there he built the Château de la Montagne. Skilled workers—brick-makers, locksmiths, carpenters, stone-trimmers, and limekiln builders—were brought over from France. The estate relied on 100 servants and roughly 300 slaves. Over time, the château gained outer and inner walls, an arsenal, and a new fortified entrance on the east side, replacing the original one facing the palace. A 50-man guard and bronze cannons provided defense. After de Poincy’s death in 1660, the château went to the Order of St. John. An earthquake in 1689 likely destroyed it. Today, only a fountain and some red bricks remain.
Architecture
The château blended Roman and French Baroque styles. The three-storey palace stood on a terrace and was approached by a large courtyard. Its lavish interior displayed paintings and maritime maps, and it housed the oldest known library in the Caribbean. Fortifications included walls and a ditch. Within the walls stood a church and quarters for workers and servants; slaves' quarters lay outside the ditch. The château had its own water supply and was surrounded by extensive gardens with exotic plants and fountains. Stables and a pigsty were behind the gardens.
More in Castles and Fortifications of the Knights Hospitaller
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