The Jean Monnet House, sometimes referred to as Houjarray for the hamlet in which it is located, is a country farmhouse in
Bazoches-sur-Guyonne
Bazoches-sur-Guyonne () is a commune in the Yvelines department in north-central France.
See also
*Communes of the Yvelines department
An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree o ...
,
Yvelines
Yvelines () is a department in the western part of the ÃŽle-de-France region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207.Montfort-l'Amaury about 27 miles west of
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 ...
.
Jean Monnet
Jean Omer Marie Gabriel Monnet (; 9 November 1888 – 16 March 1979) was a French civil servant, entrepreneur, diplomat, financier, administrator, and political visionary. An influential supporter of European unity, he is considered one of the ...
purchased the house and surrounding land in 1945, upon his return to France after living abroad since June 1940. Monnet mostly lived there until his death in 1979, except in 1952-1955 when he headed the
European Coal and Steel Community
The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was a European organization created after World War II to regulate the coal and steel industries. It was formally established in 1951 by the Treaty of Paris, signed by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembo ...
. Since 1982, the house has been owned and managed by the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
.
History
Monnet purchased the property in 1945 from , a Swedish doctor, and spent the rest of his life there with his wife Silvia. Monnet habitually took long morning walks in the forest surrounding the home, before being chauffeured to Paris where he had his office, at the General Planning Commission from 1946 to 1952 and at the
from 1955 to 1976.
Some of the foundational ideas of Europe were considered and created at the house, including the May 1950 Schuman Declaration which
Robert Schuman
Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Robert Schuman (; 29 June 18864 September 1963) was a Luxembourg-born French statesman. Schuman was a Christian Democrat (Popular Republican Movement) political thinker and activist. Twice Prime Minister of France, a ref ...
would present as a proposal for the creation of the
European Coal and Steel Community
The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was a European organization created after World War II to regulate the coal and steel industries. It was formally established in 1951 by the Treaty of Paris, signed by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembo ...
. That declaration, which created the foundation for the development of the
European Community
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...
, was drafted at the house by Monnet and his aides in late April 1950.
Over the years, many important political figures, including
Robert Schuman
Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Robert Schuman (; 29 June 18864 September 1963) was a Luxembourg-born French statesman. Schuman was a Christian Democrat (Popular Republican Movement) political thinker and activist. Twice Prime Minister of France, a ref ...
,
Walter Hallstein
Walter Hallstein (17 November 1901 – 29 March 1982) was a German academic, diplomat and statesman who was the first President of the European Commission, President of the European Commission, Commission of the European Economic Community ...
, visited Jean Monnet's home and discussed politics and the potential for a common future in Europe. Jean Monnet invited his friends, including
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
and his neighbor , also visited Monnet at his home for long conversations. Monnet would ritually regale his guests with the family cognac. Jean Monnet died at his home in Houjarray on .
In 1982, the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
, considering that the Monnet House was a common heritage of Europeans, bought the house and subsequently refurbished it as a memorial to Monnet. From 1990 to 2018, the European Parliament delegated the house's management to the Jean Monnet Association, created in 1986 and initially chaired by
Étienne Hirsch
Étienne Hirsch (20 January 1901 – 17 May 1994) was a French civil engineer and a member of the French Resistance during World War II. He served as President of the Commission of the European Atomic Energy Community between 1959 and 1962 (see ...
. The European Parliament also built a small conference center next to the house, named after
Hans-Gert Pöttering
Hans-Gert Pöttering (born 15 September 1945) is a German lawyer, historian and conservative politician ( CDU, European People's Party), who served as President of the European Parliament from January 2007 to July 2009 and as Chairman of the CD ...
and inaugurated in 2008.
Description
The house includes a ground floor, with displays aiming to recreate their state during Monnet's lifetime, and a first floor, which hosts a permanent exhibition about Monnet's life and role in European history. A wide and open garden slopes down from the house.
Pieve Tesino
Pieve Tesino (''La Piève'' in local dialect) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about east of Trento.
Pieve Tesino borders the following municipalities: Tesero, Panch ...
, Italy
* in
Scy-Chazelles
Scy-Chazelles (; german: Sigach) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. The town is built on Mont St. Quentin near Metz.
History
The historical area of Scy-Chazelles was shared between the Gorze Abbey, the ...