Château de Petit-Bourg
Encyclopedia
The château de Petit-Bourg is located in Évry-sur-Seine (Essonne
).
The first château known on the site of Petit-Bourg, on the Seine
, overlooking the Forêt de Sénart, began in the 17th century for André Courtin, Canon
of Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris and was completed about 1635 for Jean Galland. Around 1650, Monseigneur Louis Barber de La Rivière, Bishop of Langres, had gardens designed by François Mansart
. Jules Hardouin-Mansart would have worked there about 1662.
Near 1695, Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan
acquired the château de Petit-Bourg. There, she realized important alteration work and charged André Le Nôtre
with designing the gardens à la françaises, and staged in terraces. She took refuge there after her disgrace.
With her death in 1707, her son Louis Antoine de Pardaillan de Gondrin
, inherited the château and remade the gardens. Between 1716 and 1722, he undertook to entirely rebuild with the architect Pierre Cailleteau dit Lassurance. The new château de Petit-Bourg was a truly princely residence, the masterpiece of Lassurance. The best decorators of the time had worked there. One particularly noticed the cabinet in gallery of the appartement du roi (angle du pavillon du midi, à l'étage) and the grand salon, decorated by Louis-Claude Vassé with royal portraits and ducal emblems.
Before the reconstruction of the château, the duc d'Antin received Louis XIV
and, in 1717, the tsar Peter I
in Petit-Bourg. After the reconstruction, Louis XV
and the queen Maria Leszczyńska
stayed there frequently. Mme de Pompadour
saw it while living in Étiolles
- before being raised by the royal favour, and dreamed of this splendid residence.
After the death of the duc d'Antin, the château remained empty for several years. When acquired by Marie Jacomel in 1750, widow of Louis Chauvelin, président à mortier
at the Parlement
, it was entirely demolished and replaced by a new château built in 1756 in the neoclassical
style by the architect Jean-Michel Chevotet
.
At the time of the Revolution, the château was the property of the duchess of Bourbon, Bathilde d'Orléans
. After having passed through several hands, it was acquired in 1827 by the banker Alexandre Aguado, marquis de Las Marismas, who accommodated his friend there, the type-setter Gioacchino Rossini
and was elected mayor of Évry-on-Seine in 1831. The creation of the railroad from Paris to Corbeil unfortunately divided the park in two and separated it from the Seine. Alexandre Aguado sold his property on 7 April 1840 to speculators who undertook to divide the property.
The Germans occupied the château during World War II
, and set fire to it in 1944, at their departure of Évry. The ruins were razed. At the site of the château was constructed the residence of the "Parc de Petit-Bourg". The aisle bordered with chestnut trees and limes along the residence houses was the allée d'honneur of the château.
Essonne
Essonne is a French department in the region of Île-de-France. It is named after the Essonne River.It was formed on 1 January 1968 when Seine-et-Oise was split into smaller departments.- History :...
).
Seine
The 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...
, overlooking the Forêt de Sénart, began in the 17th century for André Courtin, Canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
of Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris and was completed about 1635 for Jean Galland. Around 1650, Monseigneur Louis Barber de La Rivière, Bishop of Langres, had gardens designed by François Mansart
François Mansart
François Mansart was a French architect credited with introducing classicism into Baroque architecture of France...
. Jules Hardouin-Mansart would have worked there about 1662.
Near 1695, Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan
Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan
Françoise Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, marquise of Montespan , better known as Madame de Montespan, was the most celebrated maîtresse en titre of King Louis XIV of France, by whom she had seven children....
acquired the château de Petit-Bourg. There, she realized important alteration work and charged André Le Nôtre
André Le Nôtre
André Le Nôtre was a French landscape architect and the principal gardener of King Louis XIV of France...
with designing the gardens à la françaises, and staged in terraces. She took refuge there after her disgrace.
With her death in 1707, her son Louis Antoine de Pardaillan de Gondrin
Louis Antoine de Pardaillan de Gondrin
Louis Antoine de Pardaillan de Gondrin , marquis of Antin, Gondrin and Montespan , then 1st Duke of Antin was a French nobleman...
, inherited the château and remade the gardens. Between 1716 and 1722, he undertook to entirely rebuild with the architect Pierre Cailleteau dit Lassurance. The new château de Petit-Bourg was a truly princely residence, the masterpiece of Lassurance. The best decorators of the time had worked there. One particularly noticed the cabinet in gallery of the appartement du roi (angle du pavillon du midi, à l'étage) and the grand salon, decorated by Louis-Claude Vassé with royal portraits and ducal emblems.
Before the reconstruction of the château, the duc d'Antin received 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, in 1717, the tsar Peter I
Peter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...
in Petit-Bourg. After the reconstruction, Louis XV
Louis XV of France
Louis 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...
and the queen Maria Leszczyńska
Maria Leszczynska
Marie Leszczyńska was a queen consort of France. She was a daughter of King Stanisław Leszczyński of Poland and Catherine Opalińska. She married King Louis XV of France and was the grandmother of Louis XVI, Louis XVIII, and Charles X. In France, she was referred to as Marie Leczinska...
stayed there frequently. Mme de Pompadour
Madame de Pompadour
Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour, also known as Madame de Pompadour was a member of the French court, and was the official chief mistress of Louis XV from 1745 to her death.-Biography:...
saw it while living in Étiolles
Étiolles
Étiolles is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France.Inhabitants of Étiolles are known as Étiollais.-References:** -External links:* * *...
- before being raised by the royal favour, and dreamed of this splendid residence.
After the death of the duc d'Antin, the château remained empty for several years. When acquired by Marie Jacomel in 1750, widow of Louis Chauvelin, président à mortier
Président à mortier
The office of président à mortier was one of the most important legal posts of the French ancien régime. The présidents were principal magistrates of the highest juridical institutions, the parlements, which were the appeal courts....
at the Parlement
Parlement
Parlements were regional legislative bodies in Ancien Régime France.The political institutions of the Parlement in Ancien Régime France developed out of the previous council of the king, the Conseil du roi or curia regis, and consequently had ancient and customary rights of consultation and...
, it was entirely demolished and replaced by a new château built in 1756 in the 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...
style by the architect Jean-Michel Chevotet
Jean-Michel Chevotet
Jean-Michel Chevotet was a French architect. He and Pierre Contant d'Ivry were among the most eminent Parisian architects of the day and designed in both the restrained French Rococo manner, known as the "Louis XV style" and in the "Goût grec" phase of early Neoclassicism...
.
At the time of the Revolution, the château was the property of the duchess of Bourbon, Bathilde d'Orléans
Bathilde d'Orléans
Louise Marie Thérèse Bathilde d'Orléans, Princess of Condé , was a French princess. She was sister of Philippe Égalité, the mother of the executed duc d'Enghien and aunt of Louis-Philippe King of the French...
. After having passed through several hands, it was acquired in 1827 by the banker Alexandre Aguado, marquis de Las Marismas, who accommodated his friend there, the type-setter Gioacchino Rossini
Gioacchino Rossini
Gioachino Antonio Rossini was an Italian composer who wrote 39 operas as well as sacred music, chamber music, songs, and some instrumental and piano pieces...
and was elected mayor of Évry-on-Seine in 1831. The creation of the railroad from Paris to Corbeil unfortunately divided the park in two and separated it from the Seine. Alexandre Aguado sold his property on 7 April 1840 to speculators who undertook to divide the property.
The Germans occupied the château during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and set fire to it in 1944, at their departure of Évry. The ruins were razed. At the site of the château was constructed the residence of the "Parc de Petit-Bourg". The aisle bordered with chestnut trees and limes along the residence houses was the allée d'honneur of the château.