Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château des Condé, also known as the Château de Vallery, is an emblematic monument of the French Renaissance located in the Yonne, Burgundy-Franche-Comté. Built from 1548 on the remains of a medieval fortress of the 12th and 13th centuries, it was commanded by Jacques d'Albon, Marshal of St Andrew, favorite of Henry II. The architect Pierre Lescot, known for his work at the Louvre, designed a palace combining white stone and brick, inspired by ancient models. The works, interrupted by the death of the Marshal in 1562, left the castle unfinished, with only two building bodies and a corner pavilion realized.

The estate then passed to the family of Condé in 1564, becoming a burial place for several princes. In the seventeenth century, a marble mausoleum was erected in the parish church by Gilles Guérin. The castle underwent major changes in the 18th and 19th centuries: demolition of the south wing in 1682, hazardous modifications in the 19th century by successive owners, including the Sade family. Ranked a Historic Monument in 2001 for its remains (fortified enclosure, towers, ditches) and its 16th century Renaissance garden, the site also preserves agricultural outbuildings and a closed park planted with vines.

The gardens, designed by Pierre Lescot for the Marshal of Saint Andrew, were organized in sixteen squares around a rectangular basin, a rare example of a Renaissance garden. The arched gallery, now extinct, connected two pavilions. The castle, abandoned in the 20th century, has been used since 1989 for private receptions. Its architecture, compared by Jacques Androuet du Cerceau with that of the Louvre, combines classical elegance and medieval heritage, with stone and brick facades decorated with polychrome marble.

The history of the castle is marked by illustrious figures: the Marshal of Saint Andrew, close to Henry II, who organized a great festival there; Louis de Bourbon, prince of Condé, who made it a family necropolis; and Renée-Pélagie de Montreuil, wife of the Marquis de Sade, who lived there. The vestiges of the thirteenth century, such as circular towers and courtines, bear witness to its defensive past, while subsequent changes reflect its evolution into aristocratic residence.

The classification of gardens and orchards in 1946, followed by that of the castle in 2001, underscores its heritage importance. Despite the damage, the site retains some remarkable elements: the cut stone porch, the angle pavilion, and the medieval ditches. The materials used—calcareous stone, brick, marble—and the interior decorations (painted ceilings) are reminiscent of its past. Today, the Château des Condé embodies both the military heritage of the Middle Ages and the aesthetic ideal of the Renaissance.

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