Château de L'Isle-Adam
Encyclopedia
L'Isle-Adam, Val-d'Oise
L'Isle-Adam is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France.-References:** -External links:* * *...
in the department of Val-d'Oise
Val-d'Oise
Val-d'Oise is a French department, created in 1968 after the split of the Seine-et-Oise department and located in the Île-de-France region. In local slang, it is known as "quatre-vingt quinze" or "neuf cinq"...
; it was built on an island called the Île du Prieuré The building was connected with many illustrious families; the Lords of Adams, the Dukes of Villiers, the Dukes of Montmorency
Duke of Montmorency
The title of Duke of Montmorency was created several times for members of the Montmorency family, who were lords of Montmorency, near Paris.The first creation was in 1551 for Anne of Montmorency, Constable of France...
, the Princes of Condé and finally the Princes of Conti. It was under the Princes of Conti that the building had its golden age. They lived there for seven generations and it was their principal residence outside Paris. Their Parisian home was the Hôtel de Conti
Hôtel de Conti
The Hôtel de Conti, sometimes the Palais Conti refers to two Parisian townhouse's that were the property of the Princes of Conti, the relatives of the ruling Kings of France and Princes of the blood.-History:...
. It was entirely destroyed by the 19th century. L'Isle Adam is situated on a series of three isles
History
To stop invasion by the NormansNorman dynasty
Norman dynasty is the usual designation for the family that were the Dukes of Normandy and the English monarchs which immediately followed the Norman conquest and lasted until the Plantagenet dynasty came to power in 1154. It included Rollo and his descendants, and from William the Conqueror and...
, the King of France ordered the construction of a series of fortresses in order to defend his lands from his enemy. The first series of buildings on the site were in fact constructed in 825
825
Year 825 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Egbert of Wessex defeats Beornwulf of Mercia at Ellandun. Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Essex submit to Wessex and East Anglia acknowledges Egbert as overlord.* Emperor Louis the Pious of the Franks wars against the Wends...
along the two islands in L'Isle-Adam bordering the River Oise near where the present town of Nogent is today. The latter was not recorded till 1069 but was near the site.
The château was given to one Seigneur Adam, literally "Lord Adam". From then on, the château was known as château de L'Isle-Adam. Around the château the town of L'Isle Adam grew and eventually met Nogent which was later swallowed by L'Isle Adam. By the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, the Lordship grew and included the properties of Parmain
Parmain
Parmain is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France.-References:** -External links:* * *...
and Valmondois
Valmondois
Valmondois is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France.-Local attractions:*Musée des tramways à vapeur et des chemins de fer secondaires français* Musée de la Meunerie-References:** -External links:* * *...
. Over this period the château increased in size and was remodelled according to contemporary tastes. The Île du Prieuré, or "Isle of the Priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
", was first built on by Saint Chrodegand in 1014. The Île du Prieuré was where the château was built on.
L'Isle-Adam before the Conti
L'Isle Adam lived quietly till 1360 when it was sold to Pierre Villiers, the Grand Master of the Kings householdGrand Master of France
The Grand Master of France was, during the Ancien Régime and Bourbon Restoration in France, one of the Great Officers of the Crown of France and head of the "Maison du Roi", the king's royal household...
. It was later the property of his descendant who took the style of Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam
Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam
Fra' Philippe de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam was a prominent member of the Knights Hospitaller at Rhodes and later Malta. Having risen to the position of Prior of the Langue of Auvergne, he was elected 44th Grand Master of the Order in 1521.He commanded the Order during Sultan Suleiman's long and...
. Philippe (1464-1534) was a prominent member of the Knights Hospitaller
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
at Rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
and later Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
. Having risen to the position of Prior
Prior
Prior is an ecclesiastical title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses.-Monastic superiors:A Prior is a monastic superior, usually lower in rank than an Abbot. In the Rule of St...
of the Langue of Auvergne
Tongue (Knights Hospitaller)
Tongues or langues were the geographic-cultural subgroupings of the members of the Knights of Rhodes/Maltese Knights from the 14th to the 18th century...
, he was elected Grand Master
Grand Master (order)
Grand Master is the typical title of the supreme head of various orders of knighthood, including various military orders, religious orders and civil orders such as the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Orange Order...
of the Order in 1521. In turn, Philippe's descendant Antoine Villiers de L'Isle-Adam, heir to the domain married Marguerite de Montmorency, a member of the Montmorency family
Duke of Montmorency
The title of Duke of Montmorency was created several times for members of the Montmorency family, who were lords of Montmorency, near Paris.The first creation was in 1551 for Anne of Montmorency, Constable of France...
who were created Dukes in the reign of Henry II of France
Henry II of France
Henry II was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559.-Early years:Henry was born in the royal Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, the son of Francis I and Claude, Duchess of Brittany .His father was captured at the Battle of Pavia in 1525 by his sworn enemy,...
.
By this marriage, L'Isle-Adam was gained by the Montmorency family. In September 1527, the son of Antoine Villiers de L'Isle-Adam, Charles, bought the rights of purchase from all his siblings to stop the breakup of the estate. It was he who gave it to Anne de Montmorency
Anne de Montmorency
Anne de Montmorency, duc de Montmorency, Honorary Knight of the Garter was a French soldier, statesman and diplomat. He became Marshal of France and Constable of France.-Early life:...
, Honorary Knight of the Garter, soldier, statesman, diplomat, Marshal of France
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
and then Constable of France
Constable of France
The Constable of France , as the First Officer of the Crown, was one of the original five Great Officers of the Crown of France and Commander in Chief of the army. He, theoretically, as Lieutenant-general of the King, outranked all the nobles and was second-in-command only to the King...
. It was Anne who rebuilt the château and a mill which was situated on the bridge.
Later on, Anne's grandson Henri de Montmorency
Henri II de Montmorency
Henri II de Montmorency was a French nobleman and military commander.Born at Chantilly, Oise, he was the son of duke Henry I, whom he succeeded in 1614, having previously been made grand admiral...
was executed on the command of Louis XIII
Louis XIII of France
Louis XIII was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1610 to 1643.Louis was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority...
having been part of a conspiracy with Gaston d'Orléans
Gaston, Duke of Orléans
Gaston of France, , also known as Gaston d'Orléans, was the third son of King Henry IV of France and his wife Marie de Medici. As a son of the king, he was born a Fils de France. He later acquired the title Duke of Orléans, by which he was generally known during his adulthood...
. Executed in Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
, Henri had all his property confiscated from him and this included L'Isle Adam. Despite this, Louis XIII allowed the family properties to be returned to various members of the Montmorency family. As such, due to the Montmorency male line dying out with Henri in 1632, his sister Charlotte Marguerite
Charlotte-Marguerite de Montmorency
Charlotte Marguerite de Montmorency was an heiress of one of France's leading ducal families, and Princess of Condé by her marriage to Henry de Bourbon. She almost became a mistress of Henry IV of France, but her husband escaped with her after the wedding.-Life:She was the daughter of Henry de...
became the owner of L'Isle Adam as well as the Duchy of Montmorency.
Charlotte Marguerite de Montmorency married Henri de Bourbon
Henry II de Bourbon, prince de Condé
Henri de Bourbon became Prince of Condé shortly after his birth, following the death of his father Henri I...
, prince de Condé in 1609. Henri was a second cousin of Henry IV of France
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
, held the rank of First Prince of the Blood
Prince du Sang
A prince of the blood was a person who was legitimately descended in the male line from the monarch of a country. In France, the rank of prince du sang was the highest held at court after the immediate family of the king during the ancien régime and the Bourbon Restoration...
and was the head of the incorrectly called Bourbon-Condé branch of the reigning House of Bourbon
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
. Charlotte Marguerite was later Henry IV's mistress.
From Condé to Conti
At the death of Henri de Bourbon (Charlotte Marguerite's husband) in 1651, the Condé estate was divided up between their three children:- Anne Geneviève, duchesse de Longueville (1619-1679)
- Louis, le Grand CondéLouis II de Bourbon, Prince de CondéLouis de Bourbon, Prince of Condé was a French general and the most famous representative of the Condé branch of the House of Bourbon. Prior to his father's death in 1646, he was styled the Duc d'Enghien...
(1621–1686) - Armand, prince de ContiArmand de Bourbon, prince de ContiArmand de Bourbon, Prince de Conti was a French nobleman, the second son of Henry II, Prince of Condé and brother of Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé and Anne Genevieve, Duchess of Longueville. As a member of the reigning House of Bourbon, he was a Prince du Sang.The title of Prince de Conti...
(1629–1666)
L'Isle Adam was given to Armand, the Prince of Conti since 1629. It was he who founded another cadet branch, another incorrectly named Bourbon-Conti line. The Conti line would remain in possession of L'Isle Adam right up to the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
.
Armand de Bourbon was named the governor of Languedoc
Languedoc
Languedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² .-Geographical Extent:The traditional...
in 1660 having taken command of the army which in 1654, invaded Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
, where he captured three towns from the Spaniards. He afterwards led the French forces in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, but after his defeat before Alessandria
Alessandria
-Monuments:* The Citadel * The church of Santa Maria di Castello * The church of Santa Maria del Carmine * Palazzo Ghilini * Università del Piemonte Orientale-Museums:* The Marengo Battle Museum...
in 1657 retired to Languedoc, where he devoted himself to study and mysticism until his death. As such Armand never paid L'Isle Adam much attention, dying in 1666 at his residence
Château de Pézenas
The site of the Château de Pézenas, a medieval castle in the French town of Pézenas, in the département of l'Hérault, is currently being refurbished with a view to opening to the public....
at Pézenas
Pézenas
Pézenas is a commune in the Hérault département in Languedoc-Roussillon, southern France. At the 1999 census, its population was 7443.-Name:...
, southern France. Armand's widow Anne Marie Martinozzi
Anne Marie Martinozzi
Anne Marie Martinozzi, Princess of Conti was a niece of King Louis XIV of France's chief minister Cardinal Mazarin, and the wife of Armand de Bourbon, Prince of Conti. She became the mother of the libertine François Louis, Prince of Conti, le Grand Conti...
, niece of Cardinal Mazarin, stayed at the château. Presumably she was there on the night of 30 June to 1 July 1669 when the château was destroyed by fire. The reconstruction of the building continued speedily till 1671 when it was again habitable.
Armand and Anne Marie had two sons which survived infancy; Louis Armand
Louis Armand I, Prince of Conti
Louis Armand I de Bourbon was Prince of Conti from 1666 to his death, succeeding his father, Armand de Bourbon. As a member of the reigning House of Bourbon, he was a Prince du Sang....
(1661–1685) and the famous François Louis, le Grand Conti
François Louis, Prince of Conti
François Louis de Bourbon, Prince of Conti was Prince de Conti, succeeding his brother Louis Armand I, Prince of Conti in 1685. Until this date he used the title of Prince of La Roche-sur-Yon. He was son of Armand de Bourbon and Anne Marie Martinozzi, niece of Cardinal Jules Mazarin...
. Louis Armand married Marie Anne de Bourbon
Marie Anne de Bourbon
Marie Anne de Bourbon, Légitimée de France was the eldest legitimised daughter of King Louis XIV of France and Louise de La Vallière. At the age of thirteen, she was married to Louis Armand de Bourbon, Prince of Conti and as such was the Princess of Conti by marriage...
, daughter of Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
and Louise de La Vallière
Louise de La Vallière
Louise de La Vallière was a mistress of Louis XIV of France from 1661 to 1667. She later became the Duchess of La Vallière and Duchess of Vaujours in her own right...
but had no issue; François Louis, known to history as le Grand Conti, was greatly interested in his estates and showed a particular liking to L'Isle Adam. He married his first cousin's daughter Marie Thérèse de Bourbon. Marie Thérèse, who loved her husband passionately, was ignored by her husband who often unfaithful with members of both sexes. Despite this the couple had seven children, three of which survived into adulthood.
In 1707, le Grand Conti managed to buy the whole of the Île du Prieuré from Jean-François de Chamillart
Jean-François de Chamillart
Jean-François de Chamillart was a French churchman. The brother of the contrôleur général des finances Michel de Chamillart, Jean-François served as abbot of the Fontgombault Abbey, and of Baume-les-Messieurs Abbey, as count and bishop of Dol , and then as bishop of Senlis .He gained a doctorate...
, Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of Senlis and Prior of the earlier mentioned Saint Chrodegand. Conti also had the building remodelled to suit modern tastes and redecorated it greatly. He died in 1709 from a combination of gout and syphilis. His widow Marie Thérèse lived at the property in her later life herself dying in Paris in 1732.
The château went through a quiet stage until Louis François de Bourbon
Louis François I de Bourbon, prince de Conti
Louis François de Bourbon, Prince of Conti was a French nobleman, who was the Prince of Conti from 1727 to his death, following his father Louis Armand II. His mother was Louise Élisabeth de Bourbon, a natural granddaughter of Louis XIV...
, grandson of le Grand Conti, enlarged the estate by purchasing the Château de Stors from the marquis de Verderonne in 1746. Having lost his wife Louise Diane d'Orléans
Louise Diane d'Orléans
Louise d'Orléans was the sixth daughter and last child of Philippe d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans and his wife, Françoise Marie de Bourbon, the youngest legitimised daughter of King Louis XIV of France and his mistress, Madame de Montespan...
in childbirth in 1736 at Issy
Château d'Issy
The Château d'Issy, at Issy-les-Moulineaux, in the Hauts-de-Seine department of France, was a small French Baroque château on the outskirts of Paris...
, Louis François retired to L'Isle Adam for two years where he throw himself into the excellent hunting space around the château. It was he who often had magnificent parties at on the estate.
The Destruction
The Conti residence was confiscated during the revolution, it was sold to Monsieur Heyer in 1798 who demolished it in parts. By 1813 nothing was left of the stunning residence. On 12 May, 1821, Madame Papon, widow of Monsieur Christophe Ducamp, bought the lands of Parmain as well as all the Île du Prieuré and much land within the town of L'Isle Adam. At first she constructed a beautiful abode at Parmain (1828), but this property was damaged in 1846 by the arrival of the railway. In 1857, Madame Papon therefore undertook the construction of a small property on the Île du Prieuré in the Louis XIII style on the location of the former Conti château.Later on, the property passed onto Monsieur Amédée Bread, then to his son, Henri Bread, diplomat and composer. The property was burned by the Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
ns during the war of 1870. The castle was again rebuilt and uses as a hotel. It was then bought in 1985 by a group of corporations related to the exploitation of oil. It was the bought by the L'Isle-Adam municipality in 2005.
Site
Three leagues from PontoisePontoise
Pontoise is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the "new town" of Cergy-Pontoise.-Administration:...
and six leagues from Chantilly, L'Isle-Adam and the castle was on the extreme north of the Île du Prieuré, between the hamlet of Parmain
Parmain
Parmain is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France.-References:** -External links:* * *...
, on the right shore of the Oise, and the town of L'Isle-Adam, on the left shore.
A bridge linked up the Île du Prieuré to Parmain and another to the L'île de la Cohue. The site presented evident strategic interest, allowing the Middle Ages to check the passage on the Oise. In addition, the abundance of water was a defensive part and later helped irrigate the gardens of the various owners. On the other hand, the island created great constraint's for the architects. who had to clearly work on a difficult but unique site.
Also, the irregularity of the course of the Oise and the nature of the land, caused serious problems for stability, infiltrations and of undermine.