Château de Bagnolet, Paris

Château de Bagnolet, Paris
Bagnolet, Engraving by Jacques Rigaud.
General information
Type	Château
Architectural style	French Baroque
Construction started	17th century
Completed	1738

The Château de Bagnolet was a small château situated in the Paris suburb of Bagnolet, France, 5.2 km from the center of the city. The property was part of the biens de la maison d'Orléans, private property of the House of Orléans from 1719 till 1769.

History

The original château was constructed in the 17th century by Marie de Bourbon, Countess of Soissons and Princess of Carignano after her marriage to Prince Thomas Francis of Savoy.^[1] At her death in 1692, aged 86, the property was acquired by the fermier générale,^[2] François Le Juge.

Monsieur Le Juge owned the property till 1719 when it was sold to the Regent of France, Philippe d'Orléans on 12 March. He had been Regent of France during the minority of Louis XV since 1715 at the death of Louis XIV. A nephew of Louis XIV, he was the only surviving son of Philippe de France.

The Régent gave it to his wife, Françoise Marie de Bourbon, daughter of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan and thus Légitimée de France.^[3] The Duke of Orléans used the Palais-Royal in Paris as his main seat^[4] and as such was the centre of power during the Regency.

The Duchess of Orléans made it her favourite residence, it becoming her property when her husband gave it to her. Madame d'Orléans had the architect Claude Desgots (nephew of André Le Nôtre) add to large wings to the building; she also had the park redesigned.

In the park she commissioned the construction of follies; one there comes in summer to take the expense while listening a concert while drinking tea...There were some four other construtcions: the wood House, the Gazebo, the Hermitage and the Orangerie. Only the Hermitage exists today. There was a formal French Parterre and a larger English garden.

The Duchess of Orléans, by François de Troy.

In 1734 the Dowager Duchess of Orléans^[5] let her daughter Philippine Élisabeth d'Orléans stay at the château; the little girl had once been engaged to the future Charles III of Spain; the couple, much in love never married, Philippine Élisabeth was sent back to Spain unmarried and ignored; she died at the château of smallpox at the age of 19.

The Duchess was often at the château and when she died there in February 1749 aged 71, it became the property of her son Louis d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans, him being her heir by default. He rarely used the property retiring to the Abbaye Sainte-Geneviève de Paris in 1740 having become a religious fanatic after the death of his wife in 1726.

By 1759, the estate was a vast 200 acres (0.81 km²). The château remained the property of the House of Orléans till 1769. The only son of Louis d'Orléans became the Duke of Orléans on 1752 at Louis d'Orléans' death. He sold the property and later acquired the larger Château du Raincy from the marquis du Livry.

The château was destroyed in the 19the century and the land was sold off. Most of what made up the estate is now a residential estate.

The Hermitage

The Hermitage is the only structure from the old estate to exist today; it can be found at 108 Rue de Bagnolet. The building was began in the summer of 1720 for the Duchess of Orléans by one Serin. The interior painting were carried out by Jean Valade and included frescoes by Anthony the Great.

When completed, it was covered with a flat roof with a railing in the Italian style. It was later the property of Baron of Batz who used it as a petite maison; during the revolution the building was used for secret meetings discussing the secret release of Louis XVI of France; Batz's mistress was later executed for her involvement in the meetings.

In 1820, the house belonged to François Pomerel; he had the facade's engraved with his name; his son-in-law sold it to the Public Assistance in 1887.

It is since incorporated to the hospital Debrousse.

Bibliography

• Jean-Marie Pérouse de Montclos (dir.), Le guide du patrimoine. Paris, Paris, Hachette, 1994

Notes

1. ^ Prince of Carignano from circa 1596 and son of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy and Infanta Catherine Michelle of Spain
2. ^ The Ferme générale was, in ancien régime France, essentially a franchised customs and excise operation which collected duties on behalf of the king, under 6-year contracts.
3. ^ Prior to her marriage in 1692, she was known as Mademoiselle de Blois
4. ^ The other, the Château de Saint-Cloud was the preferred residence of the Régents mother Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate
5. ^ widowed in 1723

Coordinates: 48°52′07″N 2°25′04″E / 48.86861°N 2.41778°E / 48.86861; 2.41778