Domaine de Villarceaux

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Park, renaissance chateau and medieval chateau of the Villarceaux domain

Domaine de Villarceaux is an ensemble of three castles and a golf course in the Vexin in northern France. The domain includes 800 hectares of park, forest and meadow areas.

place

The facility is located in the municipality of Chaussy in the Vexin Regional Nature Park, around 65 kilometers by road north-west of Paris .

investment

The castle from the 15th century was originally a closed square complex with towers. It surrounded a courtyard. The Saint-Nicolas tower and some parts of the building have been preserved. There is a spring inside the tower. It enabled the residents to withstand sieges for a long time. A medical garden in medieval style is laid out on the terrace .

In the 16th century the three-wing renaissance building was built a little below the castle. It served both agriculture and representation and pleasure. According to the taste of the era, the ponds and gardens were designed in a cheerful Italian style. The Jardin sur l'eau, which is inserted into the pond and barely rises above the surface of the water, is one of the few examples of a system of this type that has survived.

In the 18th century, the new owner of the property, Jean-Charles Baptiste du Tillet, Marquis de la Bussière, found the castle no longer suitable for his representative needs. He wanted a castle in a dominant, elevated position that gave him an overview of his vast land. He had the architect Jean-Baptiste Courtonne build the Château du Haut on the hill above the ponds. He had the main facade and the entrance built on the upper side. A fenced-in courtyard lined with tall trees served as an entrance for the noble guests. The vacant space immediately in front of the entrance allowed them to turn their carriages there and get off directly in front of the castle. A little to the side of the courtyard is an orangery .

The owner had a wide terraced meadow laid out below. It serves as access to the ponds and parks and as a visual axis. Two zigzag driveways saved the ladies and gentlemen the trouble of having to walk up from the pond to the castle. The meadow was and is called Vertugadin in reference to the wide hoop skirts that the ladies of that time wore .

Today the entire complex bears the Jardin remarquable award .

  • Remains of the medieval complex

  • Renaissance castle

  • Italian style garden

  • Haut Château

  • Haut Château , interior

  • Vertugadin

history

Presumably a small wooden castle was built on the spot in the 11th or 12th century. Nearby was Louis VII. , A Benedictine build Monastery.

During the Hundred Years War the castle became part of the French line of defense against England. It was rebuilt from stone and fortified in the 15th century.

In the 17th century the property grew into a large estate and at the same time a pleasure residence. The moats were converted into ponds with water features ; several sources fed the basins. Louis de Mornay, Marquis de Villarceaux , was in love with Ninon de Lenclos in the castle .

In the 18th century Charles-Jean-Baptiste du Tillet, Marquis de la Bussière, nephew of the Marquis de Villarceaux, inherited the property and the gardens in line with contemporary tastes. He had old systems in the valley torn down and the Château du Haut built on the hill above. In the 19th century only a few elements of the lower castle were preserved. The mill, the vegetable garden and the ponds were destroyed.

In the middle of the twentieth century the domain was classified as a monument historique . From 1989 the Regional Council of Île-de-France campaigned for the restoration of the domain and its public access. A long lease for 99 years was signed with the Charles Léopold Mayer Foundation . The domain received its first visitors in the 1990s. The Agence régionale des espaces verts had a large part of the gardens restored. In 2004 the park was awarded the distinction of Jardin Remarquable . By the end of 2007, 55,000 visitors were counted.

References and comments

  1. ↑ Unless expressly stated otherwise, this section follows Visite du Domaine , the domain's website, accessed on May 23, 2015
  2. ↑ Visite du domaine , website of the domain, accessed on May 23, 2015
  3. ↑ Unless otherwise specified, this section follows L'histoire , the domain's website, accessed on May 23, 2015
  4. ↑ Regional agency for green spaces
  5. ↑ A lovely garden

Web links

Commons : Domaine de Villarceaux  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 49 ° 7 ′ 7.8 "  N , 1 ° 42 ′ 29.7"  E