Château d'Abondant is a

château A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Now ...

in Abondant, in the

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, built in the mid 17th century and significantly remodelled and enlarged in the 1750s under the direction of

Jean Mansart de Jouy Jean Mansart de Jouy (1705, Paris – 1783) was a French architect. He was also known as Mansart the Elder (''Mansart l'Aîné''). He and his younger brother, Jacques Hardouin-Mansart de Sagonne, were both bastard sons of Jacques Hardouin-Mansart ...

. The Château was designated as a French

historic monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

in 1928 and in 2018, it was restored and converted into apartments.

History

The first recorded owner is Pierre Bigot, "Lord of Fay and forest Houdan." In 1485, Guillaume La Guiry is mentioned as Lord of Fay and Abondant, and, in 1560, Jean Mangot,

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

; the land passed to his son Louis Mangot, who still owned the property in 1618. In the first quarter of the seventeenth century, Joachim de Bellengreville, Grand Provost of France, acquired the seigniory of Abondant. In 1645, his widow, Marie de La Noue (a granddaughter of

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

Capt.

François de la Noue François de la Noue (1531 – August 4, 1591), called Bras-de-Fer (Iron Arm), was one of the Huguenot captains of the 16th century. He was born near Nantes in 1531, of an ancient Breton family. He served in Italy under Marshal Brissac, and in t ...

), traded the property with Jacques Bouchet de Sourches,

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The ...

of Saint-Martin of

Troarn Troarn () is a commune in the Calvados in the Normandy region in northwestern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Saline, but this merger was undone on 31 December 2019. Population Sights * The abbey founded by Roger ...

, for the estate of Montguichet, located near

Gagny Gagny () is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Geography Location Gagny is located 10 km to the east of Paris. Until the law of 10 July 1964, the commune was part of the departm ...

Bouchet de Sourches years

Around this time Jacques Bouchet de Sourches acquired the property, the château was built. In 1699, the estate went to the courtier Louis-François du Bouchet de Sourches. When he died in 1746, it was passed on to his son, Louis II du Bouchet de Sourches, Grand

Prévôt A ''prévôt'' () was a governmental position of varying importance in Ancien Régime France, typically referring to a civil officer, magistrate, head of cathedral or church, often anglicised as ''provost''. A unit of justice or court overseen by a ...

of France. In the 1750s, Louis II hired architect

to transform the residence into a four-storey château in the

Louis XIII style The Louis XIII style or ''Louis Treize'' was a fashion in French art and architecture, especially affecting the visual and decorative arts. Its distinctness as a period in the history of French art has much to do with the Regent, regency under w ...

, set on 200 acres of landscaped grounds. The main building was significantly enlarged with two symmetrical pavilions added to each end, along with kitchens and a grand staircase. In the right pavilion was a large salon, known as the Great Salon, which opened onto the park. The room had "a square design with curved angles, and was lit by three windows on the

parterre A ''parterre'' is a part of a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, low hedges or coloured gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically it was the part of ...

side, and three others on the park side." Louis' son, Louis François, the Marquis de Tourzel, inherited the estate, and his wife, Marie, a music lover, built a theatre on the grounds. Louis François was killed in a hunting accident in 1786. His widow, Louise-Élisabeth de Croÿ survived the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

, and under the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

, she was made Duchess of Tourzel in 1816. The de Tourzel branch died out in 1845, and, through marriage, the estate passed to the Pérusse des Cars family. In 1902, Louis Albert Philibert Augustin, 4th Duc des Cars, sold the estate (inherited through his wife). Before the château was sold, he dismantled the Grand Salon which was reassembled in 1903 in the new Parisian mansion of the Claire de Vallombrosa, Countess Lafond and reassembled again with some modifications in 1955. The salon was dismantled again in 1988 and reconstituted at the

Musée du Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

in 1994 where it remains.

Harjes years

In 1920, Paris-based American banker

Henry Herman Harjes Henry Herman Harjes (20 February 1875 – 20 August 1926) was a French born American polo player and banker with Morgan, Harjes & Co. Early life Harjes was born on 20 February 1875 in Paris, France. He was a son of John Henry Harjes (1829–1914 ...

acquired the château from the Duchesse de Vallombrosa. The château was among a trio of prominent châteaux located near Dreux, in the

Eure-et-Loir Eure-et-Loir (, locally: ) is a French department, named after the Eure and Loir rivers. It is located in the region of Centre-Val de Loire. In 2019, Eure-et-Loir had a population of 431,575.Château d'Anet The Château d'Anet is a château near Dreux, in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France, built by Philibert de l'Orme from 1547 to 1552 for Diane de Poitiers, the mistress of Henry II of France. It was built on the former château at the ...

and Château Saint-Georges Motel (later owned by

Consuelo Vanderbilt Consuelo Vanderbilt-Balsan (formerly Consuelo Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough; born Consuelo Vanderbilt; March 2, 1877 – December 6, 1964) was a socialite and a member of the prominent American Vanderbilt family. Her first marriage ...

). near Paris. In 1923, his 25-year-old daughter Hope was killed in a riding accident at the château. Harjes, who was credited with introducing polo to France, died during a polo match in 1926 and the château and its estate was put up for sale. The château features were described as:

The first floor is laid out lavishly for entertainment and gracious living. On the second and third floors are seventeen master bedrooms and fourteen baths, many of them modernised. On the fourth floor are the servants' rooms. The outbuildings include a garage for eight cars, stables for thirty horses and kennels which have been used in the past for a pack of stag hounds. There also is a large group of farm buildings, including a modern dairy.

Koenigswarter years

In 1937, his son Henry sold the château to Baron Jules de Koenigswarter of Paris and his wife, the former Pannonica "Nica" Rothschild. When the French government surrendered to the Germans on 22 June 1940, Baron de Koenigswarters went to England to volunteer with the

Free French Army Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...

. Nica remained at the château, "opening her doors to passing refugees and evacuees." Nica and their children were later forced to flee, first to England, and later to the United States, where she settled permanently.

Recent history

In the spring of 1945, the Château housed the El Alamein Center of the 1st French Free Forces. In 1951, the estate was modified into a medical and social institution dedicated to taking care of refugees and stateless elderly. A new gerontology unit was built in the grounds in 1991. In 2018, restoration work supervised by Daniel Levevre, chief architect of buildings in France, was completed converting the Château into fifty-four apartments.

Gallery

Photographs of the Château in 2016, pre-renovation. 13230320 loiseaulybre.jpg, 13230178 loiseaulybre.jpg, 13178856 loiseaulybre.jpg, 13177605 loiseaulybre.jpg, 13177700 loiseaulybre.jpg, 13174212 loiseaulybre.jpg,

References

;Notes ;Sources

External links

Château d'AbondantChâteau d'Abondant
at Kacius {{DEFAULTSORT:Chateau, Abondant Abondant Monuments historiques of Eure-et-Loir