Château du Raincy
Encyclopedia
The Château du Raincy was constructed between 1643 and 1650 by Jacques Bordier, indendant des finances, on the site of a Benedectine priory on the road from Paris
to Meaux
, in the present-day commune of Le Raincy
in the Seine-Saint-Denis
department of France
.
was put in charge of the design of the building. The gardens are traditionally ascribed to André Le Nôtre
and the interior decoration to Charles Le Brun
. This team of masters also worked on the châteaux at Vaux-le-Vicomte
and Versailles
.
Surrounded by five pavilions and a network of dry moats, the château du Raincy was at the heart of a private estate imbued with royal magnificence. The monumental stables could accommodate 200 horses. After Bordier added the adjacent territory of the seigneurie of Bondy to it, the park of 240 hectares was one of the most extensive in the vicinity of Paris.
Bordier's expenses amounted to the exorbitant sum of 4,500,000 livres, swallowing up his fortune. After Bordier's death in 1660, his son and heir, Hilaire, was constrained to sell the property to Princess Palatine, Anna Maria Gonzaga
in 1663. In November 1664 Molière
's troupe was commanded to perform at Le Raincy by her son-in-law, the prince de Condé. After her death, in 1684, the estate passed to her daughter, Anne Henriette of Bavaria
(1648–1723). Ten years later, Anne's husband, prince Henri Jules de Bourbon-Condé, ceded the property to Louis Sanguin, marquis du Livry, premier maître d'hôtel du Roi et capitaine des chasses; joining the domain to his of Livry, the house became known as the château de Livry.
In 1769, the château was purchased by Louis Philippe d'Orléans, who had both the garden and interiors upgraded. His heir, Philippe-Égalité, engaged the Scottish gardener Thomas Blaikie to replace the formal gardens with a more natural landscape, one of the first jardins à l'anglaise in France. The park was dotted with numerous follies, including an "old tower", a "farm", a decorative kennel
, an hermitage
, and the celebrated Maisons Russes, scored to imitate Russian isbas (log houses). One was open to visitors as the "caffé Restorateur du Reinci dans le goût Russe" as a contemporary engraving labels it; To add to the ambience of its parc à l'anglaise, the waiters spoke English.
, the demesne was confiscated by the government and then passed through a succession of owners. Madame Récamier hosted brilliant fête
s at Le Raincy under the Directoire. Neglected and left in a bad state of disrepair since that period, the château designed by Le Vau was demolished and replaced by a conventional neoclassical building in the first decade of the 19th century, at the time of Napoléon I's First Empire
, as can be seen in an engraving from 1808. Napoleon I
acquired Le Raincy in 1812, but the Prussian army quartered there in 1815. The new château fell into neglect and was eventually demolished in 1819.
(1815–1830), Le Raincy reverted to the House of Orléans. During his reign, known as the July Monarchy
(1830–1848), King Louis Philippe
used the grounds for hunting, while his retinue would stay at the Maisons Russes. At the beginning of the Second Empire
, by decrees of January 22 and March 27, 1852, the Orléans were dispossessed of their Raincy estate which became a domaine d'État. Houses began to be built in the park and in 1869, they formed the town of Le Raincy
.
Nowadays, very little subsists of Bordier's estate. The statues of Henri II, Charles IX, Henri III, and Henri IV were transferred to the Louvre
; the farm was converted into the Saint-Louis church; only a part of the orangery
is still visible.
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...
to Meaux
Meaux
Meaux is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located east-northeast from the center of Paris. Meaux is a sub-prefecture of the department and the seat of an arondissement...
, in the present-day commune of Le Raincy
Le Raincy
Le Raincy is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Le Raincy is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-Saint-Denis department and the seat of the Arrondissement of Le Raincy....
in the Seine-Saint-Denis
Seine-Saint-Denis
- Culture :A number of hip hop artists come from the Seine-Saint-Denis, including one of the first major hip-hop groups in France, NTM, as well as Lord Kossity, or more recent acts such as Tandem or Sefyu.- Miscellaneous topics :...
department of 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...
.
The Château
Louis Le VauLouis Le Vau
Louis Le Vau was a French Classical architect who worked for Louis XIV of France. He was born and died in Paris.He was responsible, with André Le Nôtre and Charles Le Brun, for the redesign of the château of Vaux-le-Vicomte. His later works included the Palace of Versailles and his collaboration...
was put in charge of the design of the building. The gardens are traditionally ascribed to André Le Nôtre
André Le Nôtre
André Le Nôtre was a French landscape architect and the principal gardener of King Louis XIV of France...
and the interior decoration to Charles Le Brun
Charles Le Brun
Charles Le Brun , a French painter and art theorist, became the all-powerful, peerless master of 17th-century French art.-Biography:-Early life and training:...
. This team of masters also worked on the châteaux at Vaux-le-Vicomte
Vaux-le-Vicomte
The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte is a baroque French château located in Maincy, near Melun, 55 km southeast of Paris in the Seine-et-Marne département of France...
and Versailles
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
.
Surrounded by five pavilions and a network of dry moats, the château du Raincy was at the heart of a private estate imbued with royal magnificence. The monumental stables could accommodate 200 horses. After Bordier added the adjacent territory of the seigneurie of Bondy to it, the park of 240 hectares was one of the most extensive in the vicinity of Paris.
Bordier's expenses amounted to the exorbitant sum of 4,500,000 livres, swallowing up his fortune. After Bordier's death in 1660, his son and heir, Hilaire, was constrained to sell the property to Princess Palatine, Anna Maria Gonzaga
Anna Gonzaga
Anne Gonzaga was a French noblewoman and political hostess of Italian descent. She was by marriage Countess Palatine of Simmern, called "Princess Palatine", as the wife of Edward of the Palatinate, a grandson of King James I of England and an uncle of King George I of Great Britain. She bore...
in 1663. In November 1664 Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
's troupe was commanded to perform at Le Raincy by her son-in-law, the prince de Condé. After her death, in 1684, the estate passed to her daughter, Anne Henriette of Bavaria
Anne Henriette of Bavaria
Anne Henriette of Palatinate-Simmern, in France known as Anne Henriette of Bavaria was a Princess of Palatinate-Simmern by birth and by her marriage in 1663, the Duchess of Enghien and then the Princess of Condé...
(1648–1723). Ten years later, Anne's husband, prince Henri Jules de Bourbon-Condé, ceded the property to Louis Sanguin, marquis du Livry, premier maître d'hôtel du Roi et capitaine des chasses; joining the domain to his of Livry, the house became known as the château de Livry.
Kennel
A kennel is the name given to any structure or shelter for dogs. A kennel is a doghouse, run, or other small structure in which a dog is kept...
, an hermitage
Hermitage (religious retreat)
Although today's meaning is usually a place where a hermit lives in seclusion from the world, hermitage was more commonly used to mean a settlement where a person or a group of people lived religiously, in seclusion.-Western Christian Tradition:...
, and the celebrated Maisons Russes, scored to imitate Russian isbas (log houses). One was open to visitors as the "caffé Restorateur du Reinci dans le goût Russe" as a contemporary engraving labels it; To add to the ambience of its parc à l'anglaise, the waiters spoke English.
Revolution, First Empire
During 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 demesne was confiscated by the government and then passed through a succession of owners. Madame Récamier hosted brilliant fête
Fête
Fête is a French word meaning festival, celebration or party, which has passed into English as a label that may be given to certain events.-Description:It is widely used in England and Australia in the context of a village fête,...
s at Le Raincy under the Directoire. Neglected and left in a bad state of disrepair since that period, the château designed by Le Vau was demolished and replaced by a conventional neoclassical building in the first decade of the 19th century, at the time of Napoléon I's First Empire
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...
, as can be seen in an engraving from 1808. 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...
acquired Le Raincy in 1812, but the Prussian army quartered there in 1815. The new château fell into neglect and was eventually demolished in 1819.
Restoration, July Monarchy, Second Empire
During the RestorationBourbon 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...
(1815–1830), Le Raincy reverted to the House of Orléans. During his reign, known as the July Monarchy
July Monarchy
The July Monarchy , officially the Kingdom of France , was a period of liberal constitutional monarchy in France under King Louis-Philippe starting with the July Revolution of 1830 and ending with the Revolution of 1848...
(1830–1848), King Louis Philippe
Louis-Philippe of France
Louis Philippe I was King of the French from 1830 to 1848 in what was known as the July Monarchy. His father was a duke who supported the French Revolution but was nevertheless guillotined. Louis Philippe fled France as a young man and spent 21 years in exile, including considerable time in the...
used the grounds for hunting, while his retinue would stay at the Maisons Russes. At the beginning of the Second Empire
Second French Empire
The Second French Empire or French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...
, by decrees of January 22 and March 27, 1852, the Orléans were dispossessed of their Raincy estate which became a domaine d'État. Houses began to be built in the park and in 1869, they formed the town of Le Raincy
Le Raincy
Le Raincy is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Le Raincy is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-Saint-Denis department and the seat of the Arrondissement of Le Raincy....
.
Nowadays, very little subsists of Bordier's estate. The statues of Henri II, Charles IX, Henri III, and Henri IV were transferred to the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
; the farm was converted into the Saint-Louis church; only a part of the orangery
Orangery
An orangery was a building in the grounds of fashionable residences from the 17th to the 19th centuries and given a classicising architectural form. The orangery was similar to a greenhouse or conservatory...
is still visible.