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Origin and history

Rothschild Castle, located in Boulogne-Billancourt in Hauts-de-Seine, was built between 1855 and 1861 in a neo-Louis XIV style for banker James de Rothschild. Inspired by Clagny Castle, it was surrounded by 30 hectares of gardens mixing French and English styles, designed by Eugène Lami and Joseph Paxton. This domain became a popular reception place for Parisian society.

Prior to its reconstruction, the estate belonged to Joseph Fleuriau d'Armenonville, then was expanded by James de Rothschild, who annexed the castle of Buchillot in 1857. The gardens, described as "one of the most grandiose in the vicinity of Paris" in 1879, also housed a Japanese garden created after the Universal Exhibition of 1900 by Edmond de Rothschild, with rare plants and a pagoda.

During the Second World War, the castle was looted by the Germans, who installed the General Staff of the Kriegsmarine, then damaged by the Americans in 1944. Upon their return, the Rothschilds found the ruined estate: stolen works of art, destroyed interior decorations, and devastated park. The castle, abandoned, fell in ruins despite attempts to protect, such as its partial classification to historical monuments in 1951.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the estate was cut off: part of the park gave way to the Ambroise-Paré Hospital (1969), and another was crossed by the A13 motorway. In 1979, 15 hectares of the park were donated to the city of Boulogne-Billancourt, becoming a public space. The castle, sold in 1986, continued to deteriorate despite aborted restoration projects (luxury hotel, retirement home).

In 2016, the Novaxia Group acquired the castle to restore it, with an estimated budget of €50 million. Urgent work was undertaken and the site was exceptionally open to the public in 2017. Although the original project included adjacent buildings to finance the restoration, it was reviewed in 2019 to preserve the integrity of the estate. The restoration, still pending in 2025, is expected to begin shortly.

Architecturally, the castle is distinguished by its 120-metre clear stone facades, its balconies inspired by Versailles, and its pierced attic. Inside, the large gallery served living rooms, library and dining rooms, while the floors housed family apartments. The park, now reduced, preserves remarkable trees like a two-hundred-year-old linden, as well as remnants of French and Japanese gardens.

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