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Origin and history

The Plessis Castle, located at the Plessis-Robinson (formerly Plessis-Piquet), is a seigneurial building whose oldest parts date back to the 17th century. He is famous for having belonged to historical figures such as Jean de la Haye, dit Picquet, who received Queen Isabeau of Bavaria in 1416, then to the Charles family, who organized there in 1541 a theatrical representation of a religious mystery. The castle then became the property of Pierre de Montesquiou, Count d的Artagnan, cousin of the famous Musketeer, who made important developments there at the beginning of the eighteenth century, including a terrace inspired by the gardens of Le Nôtre.

In 1682 Louis XIV briefly sold the estate before he passed into the hands of Pierre de Montesquiou. The latter, Marshal of France and close to Madame de Maintenon, organized a fabulous reception and arranged a park with a cooler and a pond nicknamed "Listen if it rains". In 1709, in debt, he benefited from the king's repayment of his debts, following the intervention of the Marquise. When he died in 1725, the castle passed to his nephew, then to Pierre Goblet, an officer of the French Guards, who brought together the artistic and intellectual elite of the eighteenth century.

The castle experienced troubled periods: occupied and destroyed by the Bavarian troops during the siege of Paris in 1870-1871, then by the Versaillais during the Commune, it was restored by Georges Hachette at the end of the 19th century. In the 20th century, it housed the town hall and, since 2025, a municipal museum. The building, joined by the church of Saint John the Baptist (of which the Romanesque bell tower of the 12th century is classified), preserves remarkable elements such as a covered passage, a statue of curated guard, and bas-reliefs representing children's games.

Among the notable anecdotes, the park once housed a sequoia surrounded by statues of the Seasons, while orangery served as a reception room. A engraving by Claude Chastillon (circa 1592) describes him as a "house of pleasure". The castle, restored in the years 2020, has seen its monumental staircase removed in favor of a welcome inspired by the Malmaison. The seigneury covered 238 hectares in 1663, three quarters of the present commune.

The site is also linked to cultural events, such as the "Jeu de la vengeance et destruction de Jérusalem", a religious mystery played in 1541 under the direction of Nicolas Charles and Jeanne Bochart. The epitaphs of these lords, once visible in the church, have disappeared, but a commemorative plaque pays tribute to Pierre de Montesquiou since 1933. The castle thus embodies centuries of local history, between seigneurial fascists, national conflicts and municipal life.

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