The Château de Farcheville is a 14th-century

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

in the ''

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

'' of Bouville near Paris in the ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

'' of

Essonne Essonne () is a department of France in the southern Île-de-France region. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659 across 194 communes.Hugues III, Lords of Farcheville and Bouville. The Château de Farcheville is a rare example of rural, open–filled castle of the medieval period. The great hall was built in 1291 and the

castle chapel Castle chapels (german: Burgkapellen) in European architecture are chapels that were built within a castle. They fulfilled the religious requirements of the castle lord and his retinue, while also sometimes serving as a burial site. Because the ...

was consecrated in 1304. Both father and son were

chamberlain Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...

Philip IV of France Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (french: Philippe le Bel), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre as Philip I from 12 ...

. The structure possesses a rare northern French example of arched

machicolations A machicolation (french: mâchicoulis) is a floor opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement, through which stones or other material, such as boiling water, hot sand, quicklime or boiling cooking oil, could be dropped on attackers at t ...

on buttresses, more characteristic of military architecture in the

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...

. The castle passed to the family of Châtillon in the fifteenth century. In 1990 film producer

Jean Chalopin Jean Chalopin (born 31 May 1950) is a French bank executive. During the 1980s and early 1990s, he produced a range of successful animated series, first as the founder and president of the production company DIC, then at his newly created compa ...

, owner of the property from 1989 to 2006, began a project to restore the Château. The castle was once owned by

Yellowstone Club The Yellowstone Club is a private residential club, ski resort, and golf resort located in Madison County, just west of Big Sky, Montana. It is rated among the top 10 lifestyle estates in the world. History Real estate developer Tim Blixseth pu ...

founders Edra and

Tim Blixseth Timothy Lee Blixseth (born 1950) is an American real estate developer, record producer, songwriter and timber baron. He was a co-founder of the Yellowstone Club in Montana. In 2006, Blixseth was featured in the Forbes 400 List of wealthiest A ...

. Following the Blixseth's 2009 divorce and bankruptcy, the castle was put up for sale by creditors for $57 million U.S. dollars. In 2010 the castle was bought by the current owner, a French holding company. The castle has its own moat, hunting grounds, 25 bedrooms, theatre, spa with 25 m heated indoor pool, garden, parc , and a

helipad A helipad is a landing area or platform for helicopters and powered lift aircraft. While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard s ...

. Today the structure is available to rent for private events.

References

External links

Château de Farcheville
Castles in Île-de-France Châteaux in Essonne Monuments historiques of Île-de-France {{France-castle-stub