The Château du Raincy was constructed between 1643 and 1650 by Jacques Bordier, ''intendant des finances'', on the site of a Benedictine priory on the road from

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Meaux Meaux () is a commune on the river Marne in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is east-northeast of the centre of Paris. Meaux is, with Provins, Torcy and Fontainebleau, ...

, in the present-day commune of

Le Raincy Le Raincy () is a prestigious commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Le Raincy is a subprefecture of the Seine-Saint-Denis department and the seat of the Arrondissement of Le Raincy. Its populat ...

in the

Seine-Saint-Denis () is a department of France located in the Grand Paris metropolis in the region. In French, it is often referred to colloquially as ' or ' ("ninety-three" or "nine three"), after its official administrative number, 93. Its prefecture is Bobigny ...

department of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

The Château

Louis Le Vau Louis Le Vau (1612 – 11 October 1670) was a French Baroque architect, who worked for Louis XIV of France. He was an architect that helped develop the French Classical style in the 17th Century.''Encyclopedia of World Biography''"Louis Le Vau", ...

was put in charge of the design of the building. The gardens are traditionally ascribed to

André Le Nôtre André Le Nôtre (; 12 March 1613 – 15 September 1700), originally rendered as André Le Nostre, was a French landscape architect and the principal gardener of King Louis XIV of France. He was the landscape architect who designed the gar ...

and the interior decoration to

Charles Le Brun Charles Le Brun (baptised 24 February 1619 – 12 February 1690) was a French painter, physiognomist, art theorist, and a director of several art schools of his time. As court painter to Louis XIV, who declared him "the greatest French artist of ...

. This team of masters also worked on the châteaux at

Vaux-le-Vicomte The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte (English: Palace of Vaux-le-Vicomte) is a Baroque French château located in Maincy, near Melun, southeast of Paris in the Seine-et-Marne department of Île-de-France. Built between 1658 and 1661 for Nicolas Fo ...

and

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

. Surrounded by five pavilions and a network of dry moats, the château du Raincy was at the heart of a private estate imbued with royal magnificence. The monumental stables could accommodate 200 horses. After Bordier added the adjacent territory of the seigneurie of Bondy to it, the park of 240 hectares was one of the most extensive in the vicinity of Paris. Bordier's expenses amounted to the exorbitant sum of 4,500,000 livres, swallowing up his fortune. After Bordier's death in 1660, his son and heir, Hilaire, was constrained to sell the property to Princess Palatine, Anna Maria Gonzaga in 1663. In November 1664

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

's troupe was commanded to perform at Le Raincy by her son-in-law, the prince de Condé. After her death, in 1684, the estate passed to her daughter,

Anne Henriette of Bavaria Anne of the Palatinate known in France as Anne of Bavaria, Princess Palatine (Anne Henriette Julie; 13 March 1648 – 23 February 1723) was a Princess of the Palatinate and Countess Palatine of Simmern by birth and was the wife of Henri Jules ...

(1648–1723). Ten years later, Anne's husband, prince Henri Jules de Bourbon-Condé, ceded the property to Louis Sanguin, marquis du Livry, ''premier maître d'hôtel du Roi et capitaine des chasses''; joining the domain to his of Livry, the house became known as the château de Livry. Château du Raincy - Blomfield 1911 after p60 (adjusted)

Château du Raincy - Blomfield 1911 after p60 (adjusted)

In 1769, the château was purchased by

Louis Philippe d'Orléans Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...

, who had both the garden and interiors upgraded. His heir, Philippe-Égalité, engaged the Scottish gardener

Thomas Blaikie Sir Thomas Blaikie of Kingseat (11 February 1802 – 25 September 1861) was a Scottish businessman who twice served as Lord Provost of Aberdeen, from 1839 to 1847 and 1853 to 1856. Life Born in Aberdeen, he was the son of John Blaikie (1756 ...

to replace the formal gardens with a more natural landscape, one of the first '' jardins à l'anglaise'' in France. The park was dotted with numerous follies, including an "old tower", a "farm", a decorative

kennel A kennel is a structure or shelter for dogs. Used in the plural, ''the kennels'', the term means any building, collection of buildings or a property in which dogs are housed, maintained, and (though not in all cases) bred. A kennel can be made o ...

, an hermitage, and the celebrated ''Maisons Russes'', scored to imitate Russian ''isbas'' (log houses). One was open to visitors as the "''caffé Restorateur du Reinci dans le goût Russe''" as a contemporary engraving labels it; To add to the ambience of its ''parc à l'anglaise'', the waiters spoke English.

Revolution, First Empire

During 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 November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, the demesne was confiscated by the government and then passed through a succession of owners.

Madame Récamier Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ...

hosted brilliant

fête In Britain and some of its former colonies, fêtes are traditional public festivals, held outdoors and organised to raise funds for a charity. They typically include entertainment and the sale of goods and refreshments. Village fêtes Village f� ...

s at Le Raincy under the

Directoire The Directory (also called Directorate, ) was the governing five-member committee in the French First Republic from 2 November 1795 until 9 November 1799, when it was overthrown by Napoleon Bonaparte in the Coup of 18 Brumaire and replaced by ...

. Neglected and left in a bad state of disrepair since that period, the château designed by Le Vau was demolished and replaced by a conventional neoclassical building in the first decade of the 19th century, at the time of Napoléon I's

First Empire First Empire may refer to: * First British Empire, sometimes used to describe the British Empire between 1583 and 1783 * First Bulgarian Empire (680–1018) *First French Empire (1804–1814/1815) * First German Empire or "First Reich", sometimes u ...

, as can be seen in an engraving from 1808.

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

acquired Le Raincy in 1812, but the Prussian army quartered there in 1815. The new château fell into neglect and was eventually demolished in 1819.

Restoration, July Monarchy, Second Empire

During 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 ...

(1815–1830), Le Raincy reverted to the House of Orléans. During his reign, known as the

July Monarchy The July Monarchy (french: Monarchie de Juillet), officially the Kingdom of France (french: Royaume de France), was a liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 26 July 1830, with the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 23 F ...

(1830–1848), King

Louis Philippe Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...

used the grounds for hunting, while his retinue would stay at the ''Maisons Russes''. At the beginning of the

Second Empire Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...

, by decrees of January 22 and March 27, 1852, the Orléans were dispossessed of their Raincy estate which became a ''domaine d'État''. Houses began to be built in the park and in 1869, they formed the town of

. Nowadays, very little subsists of Bordier's estate. The statues of Henri II, Charles IX, Henri III, and Henri IV were transferred to the

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 ...

; the farm was converted into the Saint-Louis church; only a part of the

orangery An orangery or orangerie was a room or a dedicated building on the grounds of fashionable residences of Northern Europe from the 17th to the 19th centuries where orange and other fruit trees were protected during the winter, as a very large ...

is still visible.

References

External links

''This article is based on a translation of the equivalent article of the

French Wikipedia The French Wikipedia (french: Wikipédia en français) is the French-language edition of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. This edition was started on 23 March 2001, two months after the official creation of Wikipedia. It has article ...

on 4 November 2006'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Chateau Du Raincy

Raincy Le Raincy () is a prestigious commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Le Raincy is a subprefecture of the Seine-Saint-Denis department and the seat of the Arrondissement of Le Raincy. Its popul ...

Houses completed in 1650 1643 establishments in France 1819 disestablishments Châteaux with formal gardens in France