Château de Neuilly
Encyclopedia
The château de Neuilly is a former château
in Neuilly-sur-Seine
, France
. Its estate covered a vast 170 hectare park called "parc de Neuilly" which comprised all of Neuilly that is today to be found between avenue du Roule and the town of Levallois-Perret
. The castle was built in 1751, and was largely destroyed in 1848. One wing of the former castle remains, and has been integrated into a new convent
building in 1907.
, the château de Neuilly belonged to Radix de Sainte-Foy, who sold it early in 1792 to Madame de Montesson. Under the French Consulate
, she sold it to the businessmen Delannoy and Vandenberghe who rented it as a secondary residence to Talleyrand (who held magnificent fêtes there) before selling it to Murat
at the start of 1804. Murat also acquired the château de Villiers and reunited the two estates, carrying out important works and expansions (notably adding two wings to the main château and holding sumptous fêtes there, including one on the occasion of Napoleon I
's coronation as king of Italy
in 1805). Murat became king of Naples (1808), and all his goods reverted to being Imperial
crown lands. Princess Pauline Borghèse
, Napoleon's sister, thus received the property as a "dotation" and also held great fêtes there. In 1814, the estate reverted to the restored Bourbon
crown.
s called "de Chartres", situated on rue Saint-Thomas du Louvre, which owned. He had Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine transform the château and also expanded the estate by acquiring 7 islets in the middle of the Seine and linking them to the château by an iron-wire bridge so as to be able to reach the island now known as the île d'Amour (Isle of Love). To that island he transferred the "Temple of Love" which his father Philippe-Égalité, when duc de Chartres, had built in 1774 in Paris
's Parc Monceau
(also known as the "Folie de Chartres") (V arrondissement, Île de la Jatte
).
The House of Orléans
especially liked the château de Neuilly, using it as their summer residence - with its long, low buildings, it provided a discretion suitable to this bourgeoise monarchy. The parc, mostly wooded, was surrounded by a high fortified wall which kept out prying eyes. It was the birthplace of three of Louis-Philippe's children - Clémentine, François and Antoine
.
, the parc was divided into 700 lots which, after the creation of seven 30 metre-wide boulevards and nine streets limited to 15 metres wide, were sold in successive auctions from 1854.
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...
in Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Although Neuilly is technically a suburb of Paris, it is immediately adjacent to the city and directly extends it. The area is composed of mostly wealthy, select residential...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Its estate covered a vast 170 hectare park called "parc de Neuilly" which comprised all of Neuilly that is today to be found between avenue du Roule and the town of Levallois-Perret
Levallois-Perret
Levallois-Perret is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris.-Name:The name Levallois-Perret comes from two housing developments, Champerret and Village Levallois , and which resulted in the incorporation of the...
. The castle was built in 1751, and was largely destroyed in 1848. One wing of the former castle remains, and has been integrated into a new convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
building in 1907.
Ancien Regime
The parc was at some point divided into two very unequal parts, on which two châteaux were built :- the château de Villiers to the east, seems to have only been a bourgeoise "grande maison", despite having 24 rooms and a beautiful garden divided from the parc de Neuilly proper by a palisade. It was subsumed back into the parc in the first years of the 19th century ;
- the château de Neuilly, to the west, was built in 1751, on the site of a mid-17th century building, for comte d'Argenson, Secretary of State for WarSecretary of State for War (France)The Secretary of State for War was one of the four or five specialized secretaries of state in France during the Ancien Régime. The position was responsible for the Army and for overseeing French border provinces...
to Louis XVLouis XV of FranceLouis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
, who had acquired the property in 1741. Decorated in the Ionic orderIonic orderThe Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
and raised on several terraces looking out over the SeineSeineThe Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
, the new building was the work of architect Jean-Sylvain Cartaud.
French Revolution
After the French RevolutionFrench 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...
, the château de Neuilly belonged to Radix de Sainte-Foy, who sold it early in 1792 to Madame de Montesson. Under the French Consulate
French Consulate
The Consulate was the government of France between the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire in 1804...
, she sold it to the businessmen Delannoy and Vandenberghe who rented it as a secondary residence to Talleyrand (who held magnificent fêtes there) before selling it to Murat
Joachim Murat
Joachim-Napoléon Murat , Marshal of France and Grand Admiral or Admiral of France, 1st Prince Murat, was Grand Duke of Berg from 1806 to 1808 and then King of Naples from 1808 to 1815...
at the start of 1804. Murat also acquired the château de Villiers and reunited the two estates, carrying out important works and expansions (notably adding two wings to the main château and holding sumptous fêtes there, including one on the occasion of Napoleon I
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
's coronation as king of Italy
King of Italy
King of Italy is a title adopted by many rulers of the Italian peninsula after the fall of the Roman Empire...
in 1805). Murat became king of Naples (1808), and all his goods reverted to being Imperial
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
crown lands. Princess Pauline Borghèse
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, thus received the property as a "dotation" and also held great fêtes there. In 1814, the estate reverted to the restored Bourbon
Bourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
crown.
July Monarchy
On 16 July 1819, the estate was acquired by the duc d'Orléans, the future Louis-Philippe I, in exchange for écurieÉcurie
Écurie is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A farming village situated north of Arras at the junction of the N17 and D60 roads.-Population:-Places of interest:...
s called "de Chartres", situated on rue Saint-Thomas du Louvre, which owned. He had Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine transform the château and also expanded the estate by acquiring 7 islets in the middle of the Seine and linking them to the château by an iron-wire bridge so as to be able to reach the island now known as the île d'Amour (Isle of Love). To that island he transferred the "Temple of Love" which his father Philippe-Égalité, when duc de Chartres, had built in 1774 in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
's Parc Monceau
Parc Monceau
Parc Monceau is a semi-public park situated in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, at the junction of Boulevard de Courcelles, Rue de Prony and Rue Georges Berger. At the main entrance is a rotunda. The park covers an area of 8.2 hectares ....
(also known as the "Folie de Chartres") (V arrondissement, Île de la Jatte
Île de la Jatte
The Île de la Grande Jatte is an island in the River Seine, situated at the very gates of Paris, in the communes of Neuilly-sur-Seine and Levallois, Hauts-de-Seine. It is 7 km distant from the towers of Notre Dame and 3 km from the Etoile. It has about 4,000 inhabitants and is nearly...
).
The House of Orléans
House of Orleans
Orléans is the name used by several branches of the Royal House of France, all descended in the legitimate male line from the dynasty's founder, Hugh Capet. It became a tradition during France's ancien régime for the duchy of Orléans to be granted as an appanage to a younger son of the king...
especially liked the château de Neuilly, using it as their summer residence - with its long, low buildings, it provided a discretion suitable to this bourgeoise monarchy. The parc, mostly wooded, was surrounded by a high fortified wall which kept out prying eyes. It was the birthplace of three of Louis-Philippe's children - Clémentine, François and Antoine
Antoine, Duke of Montpensier
- Titles and styles:/*13 July 182421 September 1824: His Serene Highness Prince Antoine d'Orléans*21 September 18249 August 1830: His Royal Highness Prince Antoine d'Orléans...
.
1848 and after
During the Revolution of 1848, the château was burned and pillaged on 25 February 1848. All that survived were the wings built by Murat, now occupied by the Congregation of the Sœurs Saint-Thomas de Villeneuve (52, boulevard d'Argenson). Confiscated by Napoleon III in 1852 with the goods of the House of OrléansGoods of the House of Orléans
Under the Ancien Régime, the goods of the House of Orléans comprised two distinct parts : the apanage and the "biens patrimoniaux".-The "apanage d'Orléans":...
, the parc was divided into 700 lots which, after the creation of seven 30 metre-wide boulevards and nine streets limited to 15 metres wide, were sold in successive auctions from 1854.