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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Charras Barracks is a former military barracks built in 1756 in Courbevoie, Hauts-de-Seine, according to the plans of architect Charles-Axel Guillaumot. It was built simultaneously with those of Rueil-Malmaison and Saint-Denis to house the Swiss Guards, in accordance with a royal decree of 1754. This historic building is marked by key events, such as the departure of the Swiss Guards to defend the Tuileries in 1792, where 650 of the 950 soldiers died. Over the centuries, it housed various regiments, including the 1st Grenadiers regiment of the Imperial Guard under Napoleon I, and the 102nd Line Infantry Regiment in 1872.

In 1886, the barracks was renamed "Charras barracks" in tribute to General Joseph Charras and his son, Colonel Jean-Baptiste Adolphe Charras, two Republican officers. It then hosted several military units, such as the 119th Infantry Regiment (1893-1923), Senegalese tirailers battalions during the First World War, and the 5th Infantry Regiment (1929-1939). After World War II, she served in the National Gendarmerie Officer School (1943-1945) and the 93rd Infantry Regiment (1946-1957).

The barracks were partially classified as an additional inventory of historic monuments on March 22, 1929, but were destroyed in 1963. Only the central forebody of its facade, adorned with an 18th century carved pediment, is preserved and raised in the park of Bécon Castle. The site is then transformed into a modern complex, the Centre Charras, including housing, shops and public facilities.

Among the notable figures related to the barracks, Serge Gainsbourg evoked his attendance at the site in 1948, while the philosopher Maurice de Gandillac was stationed there under the orders of General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny. These elements underline its historical and cultural importance, despite its physical disappearance.

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