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Origin and history

The castle of Gesvres-le-Duc, also known as Tresmes Castle, is an 18th-century building located in Crouy-sur-Ourcq, Seine-et-Marne. Originally it belonged to the Dukes of Gesvres and was a symbol of architectural and historical prestige. Its moats, still visible today, bear witness to its past importance.

The seigneury of Tresmes, which became county and then duchy, was erected in 1608 by Henri IV in favour of Louis Potier, Marquis de Gesvres. In the 17th century, René Potier, son of Louis, had the castle rebuilt by François Mansart and obtained in 1648 the building of the county in Duchy-Payrie. The name was changed to Duchy of Gesvres in 1670, under the permission of Louis XIV.

In the 18th century, the castle adopted a U-shaped plan with gardens and water moats, as illustrated by the drawings of the period. He remained in the Potier family until the Revolution, when the last Duke, Louis Joachim Paris Potier, was guillotined in 1794. The castle was demolished around 1810, leaving room for a bourgeois house.

Today, only the moat remains, a stone entrance pavilion and the gate with its gate, classified as Historical Monuments in 1975. These remains recall the past opulence of the estate and its role in local history.

The estate, described in a plan of 1824, still retains some original landscape structures, such as aisles and ponds. Despite its partial state, it offers an overview of the architecture and layout of the French castles of the 17th and 18th centuries.

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