Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Vaux, located in Fouchères in the Dawn, was initially a seigneurial house surrounded by ditches, mentioned from the seventeenth century as property of the family of Aubeterre. In 1693, Jean-Baptiste d'Aubeterre died there, leaving an estate in bad condition, described in an act as a "seigneurial house closed with walls and dimple", with gardens, lands and seigneurial rights. The site, already equipped with a chapel, will be the starting point for future reconstruction.

In 1720, a fire ravaged the castle, saving only the chapel. Jacques d'Aubeterre, then owner and captain of cavalry, entrusted the reconstruction to architect Germain Boffrand, student of Jules Hardouin-Mansart. Boffrand, known for the castle of Lunéville, designs a white stone building of Tonnerre, with Mansart attices and facades adorned with mythological sculptures ( unicorns, putti, Heracles heads). Local tradition reports that 70 mules carried the stones at a cost of £1 million.

The works, interrupted by the death of Jacques d'Aubeterre in 1723, were resumed around 1750 by his son-in-law, Claude-Joseph de La Rue, Count of Mareilles. The castle then changed hands several times: sold in 1760 to the family of Rémond de Montmort, seized during the Revolution, then bought in 1855 by Charlemagne-Émile de Maupas, prefect of police under Napoleon III. Maupas undertook renovations without altering architecture, and married his daughter Marguerite in 1871.

After 1936, the castle fell into disintegration between the heirs (families Vyau de Baudreuil and Ponton d'Amécourt) and remained abandoned until 1970, when the Vallery-Radot family acquired a medical and educational institute. In 2015, Édouard Guyot purchased it and launched a restoration campaign, opening the site to the public after 80 years of neglect. Since then, the castle has been partially restored, although a victim of a flight in July 2024 ( Louis XV and Napoleon III stolen objects).

Ranked a historic monument since 1980 for its facades, roofs and wrought iron staircase, the Château de Vaux sees its protection extended in 2020 to its avenue, bridge and outbuildings. Recent work (2019–2023) has resulted in the restoration of the slate roof, provisionally replaced by sheet metal in the 1990s. The estate, close to the natural park of the East Forest, today embodies a renaissance heritage, combining history and contemporary projects.

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