Chateaux of Normandy
Château du Bourg-Saint-Léonard
Château du Bourg-Saint-Léonard is a sumptuous building from the end of the 18th century, surrounded by stables, an orangery and a 400 ha park. The interior is decorated with beautiful furniture, Aubusson tapestries, woodwork from the 18th century and restored stairwell.Château du Repas
The current Château du Repas was built to the site of older castle in the early 17th century, probably between 1605-1615. The U-shaped building was surrounded by a moat.Château de Vimer
Château de Vimer was built in the early 1700s by Nollet de Malvoüe. It consists of main building and park built in 1840. During the Invasion of Normandy in 1944 the château was a field hospital.Château du Buisson de May
In the Middle ages, the land of today Château du Buisson de May belonged probably to the family de May. The oldest written document dates back to XVth century, when Jean de Brucourt, responsible for the famous Chatelet of Paris, sold the estate of Osmoy Michel de Bordeaux. The family de Bordeaux kept the Buisson de May over the centuries, selling wood, letting out land, farm and houses, as they were aldermen in Vern ...Château de Montaure
Château de Montaure was built in the early 1700s to the site of feudal castle from the 9th century. The current castle represents the Louis XV style. There are occasional events in the castle area.Château du Plessis-Bouquelon
Château du Plessis-Bouquelon was built first in the 16th century and enlarged during the 18th and 19th centuries. The oldest mention of the castle dates from 1464. The chapel was built in 1844.Château de Saint-Gervais
The first record of Château de Saint-Gervais dates back to the year 1198. In 1651 Jean de Carrey, Advisor to the King in his finance chamber, acquires the titles of Lord of Saint Gervais. The destruction of the original chateau occured at the time of the Revolution (1794). In 1837 the land and property at Saint Gervais was acquired by Michel Pierre Alexis Hebert, barrister in the High Court subsequent Garde des Scea ...Château de Bailleul
Château de Bailleul was built by Bertrand de Bailleul, powerful nobleman, who acquired the land in 1534. The castle was probably completed between 1550-1560. It was strongly modified in the late 1700s and the major restoration was made in 1870-1890. It has never been sold and is still in possession of Bailleul family.Château de Filières
In 1467 Jehan de Fillières bought the current Château de Filières estate and built a new building to the site of castle destroyed in Hundred Years" War. This was burnt down in 1591 during the Wars of Religion. The next castle was built in Henry IV style around 1599. Louise-Catherine Chardon de Filières rebuilt the castle again in 1767-1768.Château du Vaudroc
Château du Vaudroc was built to the site of Benedictine Priory from 1746. The park is open to the public couple of times annually.Manoir du Clap
Manoir du Clap is an od mansion located in the village of 'La cerlangue', in Normandy. It was built in the late 1590"s, during the reign of Henri IVth of France. In medieval times, the village was a part of Tancarville"s Baronny (which became a county under the domination of Jean II de Melun). At the end of the XVIth century, the place now called 'le Clap', not far from the village, became ec ...Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings
Historic Site of the week
Luxembourg Palace
The famous Italian Medici family have given two queens to France: Catherine, the spouse of Henry II, and Marie, widow of Henry IV, who built the current Luxembourg palace. Maria di Medici had never been happy at the Louvre, still semi-medieval, where the fickle king, did not hesitate to receive his mistresses. The death of Henry IV, assassinated in 1610, left the way open for Marie's project. When she became regent, she was able to give special attention to the construction of an imposing modern residence that would be reminiscent of the Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens in Florence, where she grew up. The development of the 25-hectare park, which was to serve as a jewel-case for the palace, began immediately.
The architect, Salomon de Brosse, began the work in 1615. Only 16 years later was the palace was completed. Palace of Luxembourg affords a transition between the Renaissance and the Classical period.
In 1750, the Director of the King's Buildings installed in the wing the first public art-gallery in France, in which French and foreign canvases of the royal collections are shown. The Count of Provence and future Louis XVIII, who was living in Petit Luxembourg, had this gallery closed in 1780: leaving to emigrate, he fled from the palace in June 1791.
During the French Revolution the palace was first abandoned and then moved as a national prison. After that it was the seat of the French Directory, and in 1799, the home of the Sénat conservateur and the first residence of Napoleon Bonaparte, as First Consul of the French Republic. The old apartments of Maria di Medici were altered. The floor, which the 80 senators only occupied in 1804, was built in the middle of the present Conference Hall.
Beginning in 1835 the architect Alphonse de Gisors added a new garden wing parallel to the old corps de logis, replicating the look of the original 17th-century facade so precisely that it is difficult to distinguish at first glance the old from the new. The new senate chamber was located in what would have been the courtyard area in-between.
The new wing included a library (bibliothèque) with a cycle of paintings (1845–1847) by Eugène Delacroix. In the 1850s, at the request of Emperor Napoleon III, Gisors created the highly decorated Salle des Conférences, which influenced the nature of subsequent official interiors of the Second Empire, including those of the Palais Garnier.
During the German occupation of Paris (1940–1944), Hermann Göring took over the palace as the headquarters of the Luftwaffe in France, taking for himself a sumptuous suite of rooms to accommodate his visits to the French capital. Since 1958 the Luxembourg palace has been the seat of the French Senate of the Fifth Republic.