Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Maintenon, located on the edge of the Eure in the department of Eure-et-Loir, has its origins in the 12th century, but its major transformation takes place at the beginning of the 16th century under the impetus of Jean Cottereau, treasurer of finance under Louis XII. The latter converted the old fortress into a Renaissance-style pleasure castle, characterized by a house body flanked by round towers and a raised square dungeon. The estate then passed into the hands of the Dangennes family, before being acquired in 1674 by Françoise d'Aubigné, future Marquise de Maintenon, favorite then secret wife of Louis XIV.

Under the influence of Madame de Maintenon, the castle enjoyed a new boom: a wing was added in the seventeenth century, and André Le Nôtre designed the gardens and the canal, including even an unfinished aqueduct intended to feed Versailles. The king financed some of the works, making Maintenon a quasi-royal place, frequented by figures like Racine. In the 18th century, the estate belonged to the Noailles family, which made changes, including a long wing housing stables and apartments, as well as a transformation of the facades around 1855 to adapt them to romantic taste.

The castle, classified as Historic Monument in 1944, preserves remarkable interiors, such as 17th century apartments, a library housing works of the Marquise, and salons decorated with Chinese wallpaper. The park, redesigned in 2013 according to the original plans of Le Nôtre, highlights centuries-old aisles of linden and plane trees, labeled "remarkable wooded ensembles". Lequeduct, the vestige of Louis XIV's aborted project, remains a spectacular testimony to the hydraulic ambition of the Great Century.

In the 20th century, the castle changed hands before being entrusted in 2005 to the departmental council of Eure-et-Loir, which now manages it. Its history crossed with that of the Cour de France, its architectural transformations and its park make it a major heritage site of Centre-Val de Loire, open to the visit and regularly used as a cinematic decor.

Among the notable anecdotes, Charles X stopped there during his exile in 1830, and Georges Clemenceau evoked the portrait of Madame de Maintenon in 1926. The estate also houses a collection of royal paintings, including portraits of Louis XIV and the Marquise, as well as views of the castle by 19th-century artists.

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