Castle of Courson
91680, Courson-Monteloup
« The successive owners of the estate to Courson had one thing in common: their love of gardens. The architecture of the Castle, as its design and its interior, attest to their willingness to open up the residence on the nature that surrounds it. »
History
This light house in brick and stone in the 17th and 18th centuries turned to nature which the sets and furniture are largely based. His sumptuous romantic park is the fruit of the work of the best landscape painters of the 19th and 20th centuries.
The Park, a style very formal initially, was transformed into a romantic English garden. It offers today the looks of the strollers at the bend of her whereabouts, to splendid views. Nearly 3,000 trees and newly planted shrubs alongside countless clumps of plants. They have been chosen and arranged to create subtle harmonies and compose a magnificent paintings in all seasons in 2004, area de Courson was awarded the label "Remarkable Garden" by the Ministry of Culture and Communication. A way to pay tribute to its centuries of history and botanical treasures it houses.
By its roofs of slate, its harmonious volumes and its classic form, which evokes a horseshoe and reminds the original Manor built in the 16th century, the castle of Courson, classified Historical Monument since 1944, is part of a certain tradition French.
The castle today
In 1534, Gilles the master, general counsel of François 1st and first President of the Parliament of Paris, buys a stronghold at the centre of an agricultural area called Cincehours, in the French province of the Hurepoix. In 1550, he decided to build a mansion: Courson was born. After having had several other owners - including an adventurer, Fargues Balthazar, which will hang! -the field becomes in 1672, by Royal donation, the residence of a great line of parliamentarians: the Lamoignon.
THE RESIDENCE of the LAMOIGNON: Guillaume, first President of the Parlement of Paris, the Castle passed into the hands of his younger son Nicolas, senior official among the most influential of its time. Under the Lamoignon, the mansion of the master turns gradually into a noble residence, open and bright home, evoking a famous models ranging from Rosny, property of Sully, the first Versailles.
A park in the French, in the taste of ours, makes all the fashion of the time. The son, then the grandson of Nicolas de Lamoignon live to Courson, but the latter died without children and, in 1775, the estate was sold to William Joseph Dupleix de Bacquencourt, ancestor of the current owners.
THE RESIDENCE of DUKES of PADUA a few years and a revolution later, Anne-Rose-Zoe de Montesquiou, whose mother is the only survivor of the Dupleix, inherits Courson. She has just married Jean - Thomas Arrighi of Casanova. This second cousin of Napoleon Bonaparte was dragged from his youth in the Imperial epic. Worth it to incorporate the new nobility of Empire by becoming Duke of Padua. Returning from exile in 1820, the Duke launched a major campaign to restore the area, including transforming the garden "to the French" in a romantic landscape Park, which opens onto the surrounding countryside. He then introduced many species. His son Ernest of Padua - prefect of Seine and Oise and Minister of the Interior in 1859 - began to turn a deep renovation of the area, tending to make a 'large villa of the fields. It complements the Park landscaping pond, with the help of the Bühler brothers.
THE awakening of the Park: the death of Ernest of Padua, Courson is passed to the family of Caraman. Ernest Caraman, career officer, moved there in 1920 and decided to devote his life to its renewal. His grandchildren, Hélène Fustier and Olivier de Nervaux-Loÿs, encouraged by their spouse, Patrice Fustier and Patricia de Nervaux-Loÿs, take up the torch. For several decades, they strive to live the area throughout the year by opening widely to the public. They met in 1980 with the landscaper Timothy Vaughan will contribute to the awakening of the Park. At the time, the first signs of a renewed interest in plants and gardens appear in France. And in 1982 the Association of parks botanical of France proposes to organize their annual meeting, the botanical days, transferred to the Chantilly estate from 2015 to Courson. A tagging allows you to discover the most outstanding trees in the Park, and Courson opens today to families, with the creation of a journey of discovery for children, the course of Hippolytus.
My castle is visitable
VISIT of the Castle and the Park: The Castle (tours): can be visited from March 15 to November 15, 2018, 14: 00-18: 00 Sundays and days holidays.
Rates:-full: €12 - reduced: €10 (children 7 to 18 years, seniors over 65, families, students, people with disabilities) free for children under 7 years, companions of disabled people, and the Montelupins.
Departure of guided tours of the castle: 14 h - 15 h - 16 h (visit for children) - 5: 00 visit of the park only: the only Park (open house) can be visited from March 15 to November 15, 2018, every day, from 14: 00 to 18: 00 from Monday to Saturday, and from 10: 00 to 18: 00 Sunday and holiday days s. rates:-full: €10 - reduced: €8 (children 7 to 18 years, seniors over 65, families, students, people with disabilities) free for children under 7 years, companions of disabled people, and the Montelupins.
A brochure-guide of the Park is given at the entrance to every visitor.
