Château Villette

Condécourt, France

Château Villette was designed by architect Francois Mansart around 1668 and finished around 1696 by his nephew Jules Hardouin-Mansart. The palace was built for Jean Dyel, the Comte d'Aufflay and Louis XIV's ambassador to Venice. One of the most significant historical Chateaux in France, Villette is at once both simple and sumptuous with the great octagonal salon in white and blue, the elegant dining room with the original 17th century carved stone buffet, magnificent boiseries and the stone entry hall which completely exalts the classicism of the period.

The château was restored as a hotel in 1999-2000. There are numerous outbuildings including a chapel and adjacent reception room, horse stable and greenhouse.

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Address

Rue de la Ferme 3, Condécourt, France
See all sites in Condécourt

Details

Founded: 1668-1696
Category: Castles and fortifications in France

More Information

en.wikipedia.org
www.essential-architecture.com

Rating

4.4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Notre Dame de Paris (36 km)
Eiffel Tower (32,3 km)
Louvre (34,8 km)
Sacré-Coeur (33,6 km)
Arc de Triomphe (31,4 km)
Château de Versailles (28,5 km)
Grand Palais (32,9 km)
Musée d'Orsay (34,1 km)
Place de la Concorde (33,5 km)

User Reviews

jean françois le garrec (23 months ago)
Joli château à l'écart de la route. Ne pas hésiter à s'arrêter pour une petite balade à pieds.
Gérard Coustes (2 years ago)
C'est un chef-d'oeuvre du 17 siècle avec un escalier remarquable pour sa sobriété et l'élégance de son envolée que d'écrivains de peintres de philosophes se sont succédés dans ce CHÂTEAU pour des rendez-vous galants mais on ne fait que de le rêver car fort privé maintenant dommage que les propriétaires ...
Olivier G (2 years ago)
Très beau vu de l’extérieur mais ne se visite pas
STEPHANE HENRY DES TUREAUX (2 years ago)
Château privé. Donc pas ouvert au public dommage.
key collection (4 years ago)
One of the most significant historical chateaux in France, Château de Villette is known at « Le Petit Versailles », built for the Comte d’Aufflay, the French Ambassador of Louis XIV in Venice. The same elegance and inspiration as in Versailles but at the size of a family house, both simple and somptuous, a beautiful example of the 17th Century Mansart Architecture. Luxurious on the inside and exuding classical beauty on the outside, the Château sits on more than 185 acres of Lenôtre Classic garden spreading out behind the Château on a central axis with two rectangular lakes filled with swans and migratory birds. A spectacular cascade and fountain coming from Château de Marly (Louis XIV’s own personal château), is the masterpiece of this garden and leads the vision to an obelisk.
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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.

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