Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de La Fontaine found its origins in the 6th century, when religious orders occupied the banks of the Loiret, building it up and mills. The nuns of the priory of La Madeleine then owned much of the park's present lands, including the Béchets and Saint-Julien mills. In the 10th century, an oratory dedicated to Saint Julien the poor was erected near a source known for its healing virtues, marking the first mention of the fountain of Saint-Julien, at the origin of the name of the estate.

At the end of the 16th century, after the ruin of religious wars, religious lands were sold. In 1575, farmer Martin Courtigier acquired two hectares of agricultural land at the present site of the orange factory, building a farm there. The property changed hands several times: Claude Le Semelier, alderman of Orléans, built a country house there in the early seventeenth century, before Léonor de Raganne expanded the estate to 100 hectares in 1638. He built the central body of the castle, the orange shop, and built a French-style park, possibly designed by Le Nôtre.

In the 18th century, the property passed into the hands of the Marquise of Maupas, then Ignatius Seurrat of Saint John in 1754. Her sister, Mrs. Pinchinat, inherited the estate in 1778 and added two pavilions. The castle became a reception place for the local elite, including the painter Perroneau, who made portraits of the family. The Revolution allowed Mrs Pinchinat to acquire the nearby mills, confiscated from the clergy.

In 1797 Léon Hector Patas d'Illiers, heir to the estate, radically transformed the park into an English style while retaining classical elements such as the roundabouts into a star. He enlarged the property, planted rare species, and altered the facades of the castle, adding an oval library and a Tuscan pediment. His son, Léon Ernest, built a greenhouse in the 19th century. Despite the repeated floods of the Loiret, the Patas d'Illiers family kept the castle until the 20th century, where the estate was reduced to 20 hectares.

Today, La Fontaine Park, classified since 1935, illustrates a harmonious juxtaposition of French and English styles. Open to the public on an ad hoc basis, it is home to remarkable biodiversity and serves as a framework for cultural events. The castle remains a private property, inhabited by descendants of the Patas d'Illiers family for more than two centuries.

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