Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château des Roches, located in the hamlet of Vauboyen in Bièvres (Essonne), was built in the 18th and 19th centuries. The north and east wings date from 1740, while the west wing was added in the early 19th century. This milled and limestone castle, surrounded by a park with artificial lakes and garden factories, illustrates the romantic architecture of the era.

In 1804, journalist Louis-François Bertin, founder of the Journal des débats, acquired the domain and organized a renowned literary salon there from 1815 to 1841. Guests include Victor Hugo and Juliette Drouet, as well as artists such as Berlioz, Liszt, Ingres and Chateaubriand. This place became a high place of intellectual and artistic life of the nineteenth century.

Listed on the site inventory in 1966 and referenced as an architectural heritage in 1987, the castle was purchased in 1989 by Buddhist organization Sōka Gakkai. Renamed the Literary House of Victor Hugo, it now houses exhibitions dedicated to the work of the writer, although its status raises controversy among Hugo's specialists.

The castle's architecture blends a main U-shaped body, slate and zinc roofs, and a square tower topped by a girouette. The park, traversed by the Bièvre River, includes remarkable landscape features such as stone laces and by-pass lakes. These characteristics have earned him a study for the label Jardins remarkablees.

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