Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de Maubranche, located in Moulins-sur-Yèvre in the Cher, finds its origins in a seigneury attested from the twelfth century. Sold to Jacques Cœur in 1451, the property was authorized by Louis XI in 1470 as a fortified house with ditches, drawbridge and towers. This first building, originally quadrilateral, lost two of its towers during the siege of 1591, before being restored from 1596 with hydraulic and landscaped arrangements.

At the end of the 19th century, the castle, reduced to a body of houses after the destruction of its wings, was subjected to radical modernization between 1888 and 1914 under the direction of architect Paul-Ernest Sanson. The latter restores a medieval style while integrating modern comforts, while landscapers Henri and Achille Duchêne transform the gardens: creation of a boltrin, a water mirror (now gone), a green carpet and a water organ. The lower yard is removed in favour of a landscape perspective extended by wood.

The sculptures of Félix de Chaumont-Quitry and Marie-Antoinette Demagnez de la Rochefoucauld, still visible in the gardens, testify to this period of renovation. The estate, including 90 hectares of park, has been listed as historic monuments since 2013. The original plans of the Duchêne, preserved, allowed the partial restoration of the parts and perspectives, such as the West Bolingrin or the box hedges of the green carpet, despite the degradations suffered by certain plant species.

The book From the art of gardens from the 15th to the 20th century (1911) of Marcel Fouquier documents these developments in detail, highlighting the influence of the sponsors of the period on the evolution of the site. Today, the castle combines medieval heritage, classical transformations and traces of early twentieth century interventions, illustrating almost five centuries of architectural and landscape history.

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