Château de Montgobert
Encyclopedia
The Château de Montgobert in the midst of the Forest of Retz, near Soissons
, in Montgobert
, Aisne
, Picardy
, is a neoclassical
French château
that was built for Antoine Pierre Desplasses between 1768-1775 on the site of an ancient seigneurie.
The château, which has the air of an English Palladian house, with four Ionic columns under an arced pediment, raised upon a high rusticated basement
, was owned by Pauline Bonaparte
, Napoleon's sister and wife of General Charles Leclerc
who employed Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine to raise the house by adding an attic story about 1798 and transformed the parterre
into a terrace overlooking the park, which was re-landscaped in the naturalistic fashion, à l'anglaise, with meadows and clumps of trees and specimens against a background of woodland. He died in Santo Domingo
in November 1802; his ashes were returned to Montgobert and a tomb in the park was designed by Fontaine and executed by a certain Laudier, but never finished.
The outbuildings were constructed before 1831, when they appear on an estate map. The pair of entrance pavilions date after 1835. In the early twentieth century the office of Achille Duchêne
reorganized the grand terrace: a semi-circular parterre
was flanked by terraces connected by stairs.
The château passed by inheritance to maréchal Davout, then to the Cambacérès and Suchet d'Albuféra families. Today the chateau belongs to the Cambacérès and Suchet d'Albuféra families. Since 1974 it has housed a collection of wooden ware ("treen") and some 3000 different tools.
chateaudemontgobert.com
Soissons
Soissons is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France, located on the Aisne River, about northeast of Paris. It is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital of the Suessiones...
, in Montgobert
Montgobert
Montgobert is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France.- Population:...
, Aisne
Aisne
Aisne is a department in the northern part of France named after the Aisne River.- History :Aisne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Île-de-France, Picardie, and Champagne.Most of the old...
, Picardy
Picardy
This article is about the historical French province. For other uses, see Picardy .Picardy is a historical province of France, in the north of France...
, is a neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
French château
Château
A château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally—and still most frequently—in French-speaking regions...
that was built for Antoine Pierre Desplasses between 1768-1775 on the site of an ancient seigneurie.
The château, which has the air of an English Palladian house, with four Ionic columns under an arced pediment, raised upon a high rusticated basement
Rustication (architecture)
thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...
, was owned by Pauline Bonaparte
Pauline Bonaparte
Pauline Bonaparte was the first sovereign Duchess of Guastalla, an imperial French Princess and the Princess consort of Sulmona and Rossano. She was the sixth child of Letizia Ramolino and Carlo Buonaparte, Corsica's representative to the court of King Louis XVI of France. Her elder brother,...
, Napoleon's sister and wife of General Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc
Charles Victoire Emmanuel Leclerc was a French Army general and husband to Pauline Bonaparte, sister to Napoleon Bonaparte.-To 1801:...
who employed Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine to raise the house by adding an attic story about 1798 and transformed the parterre
Parterre
A parterre is a formal garden construction on a level surface consisting of planting beds, edged in stone or tightly clipped hedging, and gravel paths arranged to form a pleasing, usually symmetrical pattern. Parterres need not have any flowers at all...
into a terrace overlooking the park, which was re-landscaped in the naturalistic fashion, à l'anglaise, with meadows and clumps of trees and specimens against a background of woodland. He died in Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...
in November 1802; his ashes were returned to Montgobert and a tomb in the park was designed by Fontaine and executed by a certain Laudier, but never finished.
The outbuildings were constructed before 1831, when they appear on an estate map. The pair of entrance pavilions date after 1835. In the early twentieth century the office of Achille Duchêne
Achille Duchêne
Achille Duchêne was a French garden designer who worked in the grand manner established by André Le Nôtre. The son of the landscaper...
reorganized the grand terrace: a semi-circular parterre
Parterre
A parterre is a formal garden construction on a level surface consisting of planting beds, edged in stone or tightly clipped hedging, and gravel paths arranged to form a pleasing, usually symmetrical pattern. Parterres need not have any flowers at all...
was flanked by terraces connected by stairs.
The château passed by inheritance to maréchal Davout, then to the Cambacérès and Suchet d'Albuféra families. Today the chateau belongs to the Cambacérès and Suchet d'Albuféra families. Since 1974 it has housed a collection of wooden ware ("treen") and some 3000 different tools.
External links
- The gardens and park
- Patrimoine de France: Montgobert This article depends on architectural history presented here.
chateaudemontgobert.com
Further reading
- Comte Maxime de Sars, Montgobert et son château
- "Note sur la construction du château de Montgobert", 'Mémoires de la Fédération des Sociétés d’Histoire et d’Archéologie de l’Aisne 12 (1966).