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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The nymphée de Chatou is an artificial grove fountain built in the 4th quarter of the 18th century, under the direction of architect Jacques-Germain Soufflot, famous for the Panthéon de Paris. Sponsored by Henri Léonard Jean Baptiste Bertin, the General Controller of Finance of Louis XV, this decorative monument was integrated into an agricultural and horticultural estate today disappeared. Its shell vault, supported by 18 columns arranged in arc-de-circle, is decorated with inlays of minerals, shells and millstones, creating a remarkable polychrome effect. Originally, it housed a fountain and a pond, offering views of the Seine and the island of Impressionists (formerly Chatou Island).

After the French Revolution, Bertin emigrated in 1791 and died abroad, leaving his estate fragmented. In 1804 Louis Silvy, Jansenist and agronomist, acquired the property, including the nymph, a 72-room castle (built in 1780 by Soufflot), an orangery and agricultural land. Silvy pursued vegetable and livestock farming activities there, but sold the estate around 1812. In the 19th century, the park and the castle disappeared in favour of subdivisions, while the nymph, which remained in a private property, underwent restorations in 1828 (addition of 3 basins replacing a nymph) and 1969.

Ranked a historic monument in 1952, the nymph is reported at risk in 2002 and 2015 due to its degradation. At the end of 2021, the commune of Chatou became its owner and announced a restoration project as well as an opening to the banks of Seine. Initially accessible via the avenue du Château de Bertin, its opening to the public by the wharf of the Nymphée is planned to enhance this exceptional heritage, witness to the art of gardens and hydraulic engineering of the Enlightenment century.

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