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Origin and history

The Castellant property, located in Largny-sur-Automne in Aisne, is a 19th century estate organized around a house built between 1827 and 1830. Its park, inspired by English gardens, includes picturesque elements such as springs, a river, caves, statues and two temples (of Philosophy and Nature), as well as a hotel in the Dreamland. The ensemble pays tribute to Jean-Jacques Rousseau, with architectural and symbolic references to his thought, as a replica of his tomb in Ermenonville.

The site, formerly called the "closée de la Brasserie", was acquired in 1589 by the Marquis de Condren under the Ancien Régime. In 1793 Jacques Conseil, parish priest and then mayor of Largny, became its owner, before the estate was transferred to the Guay and Moutonnet-Joly families. In 1891, journalist Auguste Castellant (1844–1918), an admirer of Rousseau, bought and created the present park, marked by celebrations in honour of the philosopher, such as the feast of the Supreme Being in 1894.

Auguste Castellant, a national figure committed to the commemoration of Rousseau, engraved on the Temple des Charmettes a Latin inscription celebrating science and justice. The park also houses a statue of Rousseau by Henri Gréber (1854–1941), surrounded by allegories. Castellant was buried there in 1918 in a replica of the tomb of Ermenonville. The estate, registered with historical monuments in 2008, was bequeathed to the Société Historique Régionale de Villers-Cotterêts.

The name "Charmettes" echoes the property of Rousseau in Chambéry, highlighting the spiritual link between the two places. Castellant also organized national tributes, such as the erection of the Rousseau monument at the Pantheon in 1889 or the inauguration of statues in Montmorency and Ermenonville. His commitment led him to participate in the opening of the tombs of Voltaire and Rousseau in 1897, consolidating his role in the memory of the Enlightenment.

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