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Origin and history

Mortefontaine Castle is a 17th-century building (1600-1630) built for Philippe Hotman, lord of Plailly-Montmélian, in the Oise department. It became the centre of the Marquisat de Plailly-Montmélian in 1654, although its administration remained based in Plailly. The castle was especially famous for having been Joseph Bonaparte's country residence between 1798 and 1814, during which time he hosted major diplomatic events, such as the signing of the Treaty of Mortefontaine (1800) ending the Franco-American quasi-war.

Originally, the estate belongs to medieval lords such as the Abbey of Saint-Denis and the Bouteiller de Senlis. In the 16th century, François Hotman unified much of the land, and his son Philippe built the castle there. The Marquisat then passed into the hands of the Le Peletier family, which expanded and built an English-speaking park in the 1770s. Louis III The Peletier, the last owner before the Revolution, embellished the estate with factories and a theatre, before abandoning it in 1790.

Under Joseph Bonaparte, the castle reached its peak: it hosted the peace negotiations of Amiens (1802) and the marriages of Caroline Bonaparte and Camille Borghèse. The estate is then transformed with picturesque gardens and eclectic constructions. After Napoleon's fall, the castle changed hands several times, becoming a school in the 1950s and then a luxury hotel in the 1980s, before becoming a private residence again. Today, there are few traces of its original park.

The castle has been partially protected since 2004 (registration to historical monuments), while the former Petit Parc, classified in 1947, has lost most of its factories. The site now houses a Catholic school institution, the Institut Saint-Dominique, located in former outbuildings. Despite its rich history, the castle has undergone divisions and transformations that have altered its original appearance.

Architecturally, the castle consists of a central house body flanked by two pavilions, with a large lateral wing and a bassyard including stables, orangery and theatre. The park, described in 1790 as a set of groves, alleys and vegetable gardens, extended over more than 50 acres. Today, only a statue, the Gladiator, remains in front of the entrance, witness to its former splendor.

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