Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Fonbeauzard, built in the seventeenth century by Philippe de Forest, is part of a reorganization of the estate inspired by the precepts of the agronomist Olivier de Serres. The estate, structured around a fenced garden and a rectilinear driveway park, was initially dedicated to culture, ornamentation and hunting. Forest's family remained the owner of the estate until 1732, when the estate came into the hands of the Malaret family. Jean-Etienne de Malaret then obtained the Baronie de Fonbeauzard, marking a period of transformation and beautification of the site.

In the 19th century, the estate underwent major changes under the impetus of Joseph de Malaret and his daughter, Camille de Malaret. In 1843, Joseph de Malaret turned the court of offices into a garden of pleasure and planted cedars, while from 1847 Camille de Malaret rearranged the surroundings to create a landscaped park. She appealed to the brothers Bonamy, a Toulous pépinierist, to trace new paths, plant groves of deciduous trees and dispose of the massifs of flowers around the castle. This park, where Camille and Madeleine de Malaret played, will inspire the model little girls of the Countess of Ségur.

The 18th century park, renovated in the 19th century, spans 40 hectares and includes remarkable elements such as the Great Elliptical Prairie, the Great Wood Dedicated to Hunting, and a vegetable garden with a reconstituted greenhouse. A noria with its masonry tank, as well as a medieval fountain, testify to the ingenuity of the hydraulic installations of the estate. The current restoration project aims to find the original axes and reinterpret the gardened spaces, in line with contemporary social and environmental concerns. The estate, partially classified as Monument Historique in 1994, preserves facades, roofs, and an interior staircase of the seventeenth century, as well as communes built between 1820 and 1827 as a model farm.

The stables, built around 1860 by the architect Galinie, complement this architectural and landscaped ensemble. The park is home to remarkable species such as the cedar of Lebanon, the green oak and the American sink, a legacy of 19th-century plantations. The estate of Fonbeauzard, in addition to its historical interest, illustrates the evolution of agricultural and landscape practices, as well as the role of aristocratic families in the management of lands and gardens in Occitania.

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