Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Corbeville estate, located in Orsay on the Saclay plateau, appears in history at the beginning of the 16th century. Built around 1520 as a residential pavilion, it was enlarged around 1590 by Isaac Arnauld, counselor of Henry IV, who added four turrets in 1605. This castle, without defensive role, was a place of life for influential families, such as the Arnauld and the Sainte-Marthe, linked to Jansenism.

In the 18th century, the estate passed into the hands of the Baron and Baroness of Schomberg, who made it a worldly residence while actively managing its agricultural land and park. The French Revolution led to its confiscation as "national property" in 1794, before it was bought by a tanner, then by bourgeois families like the Vavin in the 19th century.

The castle underwent a major transformation in the 20th century: acquired in 1946 by the Meters Company, it became a research centre in electronics, hosting laboratories until the 2000s. Today integrated into the Paris-Saclay project, it symbolizes the transition from a historical heritage to a modern scientific pole.

Its architecture, marked by a unique roof replacing in 1660 a double medieval structure, and its park with the old cooler and royal laugh, testify to its evolution throughout the centuries. The castle also housed personalities such as actress Madame Simone in the 1930s, or served as refuge for Jewish children after 1945.

The ancient archives and plans, like those of the engineer Archangé (1749), reveal a preserved topography: wood of the troche, vegetable gardens, and a sandstone quarry. These elements, combined with its role in scientific research, make Corbeville a place at the crossroads of history and innovation.

External links