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Origin and history

Beauregard Castle, now reduced to its central pediment, was a medieval estate located on the heights of La Celle-Saint-Cloud (Yvelines). His name dates back to at least the sixteenth century, evoked by the tomb of Jeanne de Sansac, lady of Beauregard, who died in 1547. The site, overlooking a hill at 160 meters above sea level, was a place of aristocratic residence before undergoing major transformations.

In the 17th century, the castle belonged to the Val family, close to the royal court. Pierre du Val, master of the king's hotel, and his descendants, including Pierre de Paris (advisor to Parliament), received such personalities as Lully and Quinault. Without a direct heir, the estate passed through alliances and successive bequests, especially to the families of the Chair and Montaigu, before being confiscated and then returned during the Revolution.

In the 19th century, the castle underwent a revival under the impetus of Miss Howard, the mistress of Napoleon III. She had it rebuilt in neo-classical style and enlarged the estate to 184 hectares, obtaining the title of Countess de Beauregard. After his death in 1865, the estate changed hands several times, becoming Prussian headquarters in 1870, owned by Baron Maurice de Hirsch, then a military site during the two world wars.

During the Second World War, the castle served as a prison camp (Fronstalag 112) for the Germans (1940–1941), then as a assembly centre for Soviet prisoners under NKVD (1944–1947). After the Liberation, it will also house an annex to Fresnes prison until 1953, welcoming collaborators and elderly or sick prisoners. These prison practices were a lasting sign of its history, reflecting the geopolitical tensions of the time.

In 1949, the Earl of Bendern, the last owner, offered the estate in ruins to the city of Paris. Between 1959 and 1968 it built social housing (cités-gardens Beauregard I and II), preserving only the central front of the castle. The site, originally intended to become a forest park, became a residential area integrating a children's nature centre, marking the end of its aristocratic and military past.

Today, the fronton of the Beauregard castle, surrounded by buildings, recalls the turbulent history of this estate, passed from the hands of the French aristocracy to those of the prison authorities, before moving into a modern place of life. The remains symbolize the social and political transformations that shaped the Paris region in the 20th century.

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