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Origin and history

The château des Hauts, located in La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin in the Loiret, has its origins in the 15th century in the form of a mansion belonging to Pierre de La Chapelle, captain who died in 1428 during the siege of Orleans. According to tradition, King Charles VII ordered his restoration, and the castle would have welcomed sovereigns like Henry II and Charles IX. In 1572 he was reportedly renovated for his mistress Marie Touchet, mother of Henriette de Balzac d'Entrages, future Marquise de Verneuil and mistress of Henri IV.

In the 18th century, the castle became a meeting place for the Orléanian aristocracy, with gardens attributed to André Le Nôtre. Between 1767 and 1785 Étienne Fleureau de Guillonville organized an intellectual salon, bringing together artists such as Charles-Michel Campion and Laurent Pierre Bérenger. The estate, then called "Maison des Vignes", depended on the abbey of Saint-Mesmin and symbolized the art of living Lights.

In 1801, the tragic woman Mademoiselle Raucourt settled there and made it a luxurious reception place, decorated with refined furniture and populated by actors like Talma. Passionate about botany, she cultivated rare plants, some of which were exchanged with Josephine de Beauharnais for the Malmaison garden. Its twelve-hectare park, with greenhouse and orangery, attracts admiration until his death in 1815.

Acquired in 1816 by former Parisian merchants (including Étienne Chemin and Sophie Olive), the castle was sold in 1844 to Bishop Fayet of Orléans, who made it his episcopal residence and set up a small seminary. Renamed "Château des Évêques", it housed Felix Dupanloup during the 1870 war, where he tried to restore the monarchy.

In the 20th century, the castle became a sanatorium for TB women (1926), with a school for their children. Requisitioned during the two world wars (German lazaret in 1942, military hospital in 1944), it was finally abandoned before being bought in 2013 by Pentalog, which renovated it to its headquarters.

Architecturally, the castle consists of a body of building flanked by two 15th century cylindrical towers, with a south facade decorated with square turrets and a terraced garden overlooking the Loire. The "Tilleuls alley", which was classified as a communal road, once constituted private access.

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