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Hunting Pavilion known as King's Pavilion à Marcoussis dans l'Essonne

Essonne

Hunting Pavilion known as King's Pavilion


    91460 Marcoussis
Private property
Pavillon de chasse dit Pavillon du Roi
Pavillon de chasse dit Pavillon du Roi
Crédit photo : Lionel Allorge - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1800
1900
2000
1768 et 1771
Opening of hunting routes
1774
Construction of the pavilion
16 avril 1774
Visit of Louis XV
26 novembre 1968
Historical Monument
24 avril 2025
Supplementary registration
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

The facades and roofs of the building known as "Pavillon du Roi", which appears in the cadastre, section K, under No. 36: classification by decree of 26 November 1968; The following parts of the hunting pavilion, known as the King's Pavilion, located at Bel-Air Road, as delimited on the annexed plan: the interiors of the pavilion, located on Parcel No. 439, shown in the cadastre section K; the land base of the pavilion, situated on parcels No 37, 188, 427, 439 and on the north-western part of parcel No 187, shown in cadastre section K, excluding the two small outbuildings added in the 1950s or 1960s; the corresponding part of the stream channeled the Salmouille and the culvert over it, not cadastral; by order of 24 April 2025

Key figures

Louis XV - King of France, sponsor Provide the plans and visit the pavilion.
Jean-Rodolphe Perronet - Architect Supervised construction in 1774.
Louis XVI - King of France, user Attended the pavilion after Louis XV.
Charles X - King of France, user Used the pavilion in the 19th century.

Origin and history

The Pavillon du Roi, located in Marcoussis, Île-de-France, is a hunting lodge built in 1774 during the reign of Louis XV. This rectangular building, a sober architecture with split facades and a slight central landing, was built according to the plans provided by the king himself. The anterior façade has a curved door framed with two rectangular windows, while the base, accessible by a six-step porch, houses three vaulted rooms. Inside, the ground floor included a vestibule, a glazed living room, a kitchen and outbuildings, while the basement housed an antechamber and a bedroom with alcove. This pavilion was designed as a meeting place for royal hunting, near a star-shaped crossroads formed by the roads drawn by order of Louis XV.

The pavilion was erected at the end of a historic carriageway, near a pond today dried up, and visited by Louis XV on 16 April 1774, shortly before his death. He then served regularly with Louis XVI and Charles X. Its construction is part of a larger project to develop the woods of Marcoussis, where Louis XV ordered in 1768 and 1771 the opening of new hunting roads, including a road linking Orsay to the flood plain. The architect Jean-Rodolphe Perronet, known for his work during the reign of Louis XV, supervised his realization.

Ranked a Historic Monument in 1968 for its facades and roofs, the pavilion saw its interiors and land base protected by a registration order in 2025. The site also includes a portion of the Salmouille channeled stream and an adjacent culvert. Although some dependencies added to the 20th century are not protected, the pavilion remains an architectural and historical testimony of royal leisure in the Enlightenment.

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