Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Savigny-sur-Orge came into being in the 15th century, when Étienne de Vesc, the chamberlain of Charles VIII, acquired the estate in 1475 and enlarged the castle between 1485 and 1488. In 1511 Charles de Vesc became his lord. The estate then passed into the hands of several noble families, including the Agoult in the sixteenth century, then the Vintimille du Luc in the eighteenth, before being sold in 1768 to M. Cochin. In 1802, Marshal Davout, prince of Eckmühl, acquired it and carried out important works there.

In 1869, the Queen of Spain Isabelle II, in exile, briefly stayed there. During World War I, in 1917, the castle was requisitioned to house military hospitals under the chairmanship of Raymond Poincaré. After the war, the estate remained a place marked by history, until its transformation into an annex to Lakanal de Sceaux high school in 1947, eventually becoming the Jean-Baptiste-Corot high school in 1956.

The castle, surrounded by moat and artificial canals, preserves architectural elements of its different eras. Its 16-hectare park, classified as "green high school", now houses a renowned school, combining historical heritage and educational modernity. The major renovations of the 2000s, awarded with the Silver Square Prize in 2008, preserved its character while adapting to its new functions.

Among the notable events, Nicolas Sarkozy's inauguration in 2010 of the Ciné-Lycée platform, dedicated to film education, illustrates his contemporary cultural role. The high school, ranked among the best in France, thus perpetuates a dual vocation: that of a monument charged with history and an educational pole of excellence.

The illustrious characters related to the castle, such as Marshal Davout or Queen Isabelle II, recall its past importance, while famous teachers and former students (Rachida Brakni, Yves Agid) testify to its current influence. The estate, served by the RER C and the T12 tramway, remains an emblematic place of Savigny-sur-Orge and the Essonne.

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