Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

Boulainvilliers Castle, also known as the Château de Passy, originated in the 15th century, when the village of Passy was erected as a seigneury. Its first building was built in 1381. In the 17th century, Claude Chahu, treasurer general of finance, and his wife Christine de Heurles acquired the seigneury in 1658. They enlarged the estate and built Notre-Dame-de-Grâce de Passy in 1666. Upon the death of Claude Chahu in 1670, his widow obtained parish independence from Passy before leaving his estate at the Hôtel-Dieu in Paris in 1683.

In 1722 Marie Armande Carton-Dancourt, known as Manon Dancourt, bought the seigneury with the funding of his lover, Samuel Bernard. Together, they restore the castle according to a U-shaped plan, surrounded by a park offering spectacular views of the Seine and its surroundings. The estate, which extends from the Seine to the present Mozart Avenue, becomes a reception place for the artistic and aristocratic elite. Manon Dancourt sold the castle in 1739 to Gabriel Bernard de Rieux, son of Samuel Bernard, after his death.

Gabriel Bernard de Rieux, then his son Anne Gabriel de Boulainvilliers, turned the castle into a high cultural place. In 1747 he rented it to the farmer general Alexandre Le Riche de La Pouplinière, who organized concerts directed by Rameau and then Gossec. The estate also houses three famous pastels of Maurice-Quentin de La Tour. After the Revolution, the castle was sold in 1794 and its properties shared in 1798. In 1815, the gardens were devastated by foreign troops, and the estate was finally loti in 1825, giving birth to the Boulainvilliers district.

The castle, located at the intersection of the current rue Raynouard and rue des Marronniers, was famous for its terraced park and its salons where artists and aristocrats were associated. After its demolition, the area develops with the opening of new streets (Boulainvilliers Street, Ranelagh Street) and the acquisition of land by industrialists like David Singer. Today, there are only urban traces of this historic area, integrated into the landscape of the 16th arrondissement.

Among the works of art associated with the castle are three pastels of La Tour, including the portraits of Gabriel Bernard de Rieux and the Marquise de Sesmaisons. These works, exhibited at the 18th century Salons, illustrate the delight of the place. The castle was also linked to personalities such as the Duke of Penthièvre, who lived there with his daughter until 1793, and the Princess of Lamballe, owner of a nearby hotel.

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