Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Domaine de Sceaux came into being in the 15th century with a mansion belonging to John II Baillet, seigneur of Sceaux, who received Louis XI there. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, the Potier de Gesvres, lords of Sceaux, built a castle in the style of Henri IV or Louis XIII. The property remained in this family until it was bought in 1670 by Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the chief financial officer of Louis XIV, who wished to make it his country residence near Versailles. Colbert enlarged the estate, drew the gardens by André Le Nôtre and decorated the castle with the help of Charles Le Brun and renowned artists such as François Girardon and Antoine Coysevox.

When Colbert died in 1683, his son, the Marquis de Seignelay, took over the estate and continued the development, notably by creating the Grand Canal and expanding the park. After his death in 1690, the estate passed into the hands of the Duke and Duchess of Maine, who held a brilliant court there at the beginning of the eighteenth century. However, at the Revolution, the estate was confiscated, looted, and the castle destroyed in 1798 by a merchant, Jean François Hippolyte Lecomte, who sold the materials.

In the 19th century, the estate was bought by the Treviso family, which had a new castle rebuilt between 1856 and 1862 in a Louis XIII style. The park, partially loti to finance its restoration, was finally acquired in 1923 by the Seine department (now the Hauts-de-Seine). Since then, the estate has housed the museum of the departmental domain of Seals and remains an emblematic place for its gardens, statues and history linked to the courtyard of Louis XIV.

The gardens, designed by Le Nôtre, are organized around a north-south axis and a large canal, with remarkable elements such as the basin of the Octogone, the waterfalls and the pavilion of the Aurora, decorated by Charles Le Brun. The park also preserves remains of the 17th and 18th centuries, such as orangery built by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, stables and several original or reproduced statues. Today, the estate is a cultural and walking place, hosting exhibitions, concerts and public events.

The present castle, rebuilt in the 19th century, has since 1937 housed the museum of the departmental domain of Seals, which traces local and regional history. The park, classified as Remarkable Garden, is open to the public and offers green spaces, historic aisles and preserved architectural elements. It is also a place of memory, with memorials dedicated to the Armenian genocide and the deportation of Jews during the Second World War.

Finally, the Sceaux estate has inspired artistic and cultural works, such as films, songs and paintings. There remains a major testimony of the art of French gardens and the history of aristocratic residences in Île-de-France.

External links