Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Bonnelles, located in the Yvelines in Île-de-France, was built between 1847 and 1849 by architects Joseph-Antoine Froelicher and Clément Parent for the 11th Duke of Uzès, Géraud de Crussol. This Louis XIII style castle, combining Renaissance and classical influences, replaces an earlier building demolished in 1764. It became an emblematic place of the hunt to run under the impulse of the Duchess of Uzès, Anne de Rochechouart-Mortemart, heiress of the fortune Veuve Clicquot, who made it his favourite residence from 1867.

The estate, with an area of 2,000 hectares, welcomes royal and aristocratic personalities, such as the Grand Duke Vladimir of Russia in 1884 or King Constantine I of Greece in 1914. During World War I, the Duchess transformed the castle into a military hospital, where she practised as a nurse. After his death in 1933, the furniture was dispersed, and the castle changed hands several times: seminary of the White Fathers (1945), international college (1965), then abandoned in the 1990s.

Partially classified as historical monuments in 2010, the castle was subjected to a fire in 2008 which destroyed part of its roof. Restored from 2009, it was finally converted into a residence of 44 housing units in 2021, while its 64-hectare park, acquired by the NFB in 2018, was set up for an opening to the public. The lodge, an outbuilding of the castle, now houses an architectural creation centre.

The present castle, made of brick and mill, is distinguished by its main body flanked by two square wings and a horse iron perron. Its interior, once sumptuous, included a monumental 25-metre-long living room, a galleryhouse leading to a dining room decorated with cynegetic decorations, and a library rich in thousands of works. The facades, made of grinder and brick chains, are embellished with stone frames.

The park, landscaped with great botanical diversity, includes a picturesque pond, a temple of Love, and a neo-Gothic kiosk restored in 1998. Close to the Haute Vallée de Chevreuse Regional Nature Park, it also houses a voluntary nature reserve. The Bonnelles ponds, integrated into this landscape, reinforce its preserved and historic character.

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