The castle of Bellevue

Owned by Lois Amour, the brother of the Maire of Donchery, this 19th century château was where on the 2d of September 1870, the Emperor was waiting for the arrival of King Guillaume. However Bismark insisted that the capitulation was signed before his arrival. The signing of the surrender agreement took  place at 11am, in the presence of General de Wimpffen. The King of Prussia didn’t arrive at Bellevue until around 2pm, when he met Napoleon for a quarter of an hour during which time the Emperor confirmed that he had never wanted the war. He later revealed that he considered that they were “both overcome with emotion”.

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