Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château du Tremblay-sur-Mauldre was built in the first half of the 17th century by architect François Mansart for the Le Clerc du Tremblay family, local lords since the 15th century. This castle is inseparable from François Le Clerc du Tremblay, nicknamed "Le Père Joseph" or "L'Éminence grise", a close adviser to Cardinal de Richelieu. The estate, passed on by inheritance to the families of Dangennes, Saint-Georges de Vérac and Rougé, was profoundly transformed at the beginning of the 20th century.

In 1910 the Count and Countess Robert de Vogüé, heiress of the Sommier (owners of Vaux-le-Vicomte), acquired the castle and undertook major restoration work. The facades are taken over, the chains and frames of the openings restored, and the English park is redesigned to the French, inspired by the methods applied in Vaux-le-Vicomte. After the Second World War, the castle changed hands several times: property of the town of Neuilly-sur-Seine in the 1950s, it became a golf course in the 1980s, then a seminar center and hotel (Chateauform) since 2010.

Ranked Historic Monument in 1979 for its facades and roofs, then in 1991 for its interiors and park, the castle embodies Mansart's architectural heritage and the influence of large aristocratic families. Its park, outbuildings and music pavilion testify to a history of political power, art and landscape transformation. The estate now houses a renowned golf course, perpetuating its influence in the Yvelines.

The castle is also linked to major cultural figures of the twentieth century. Pablo Picasso lived there in 1936, installing his workshop in an old farm in the estate proposed by Ambroise Vollard, famous art merchant. Blaise Cendrars, a French-born Swiss writer, owned a "house of fields" offered by her companion, Raymone Duchâteau. Piled during the war, this residence symbolizes the attachment of artists to this place, where Cendrrs is now buried.

The authorship of the design of the castle, long discussed, was recently attributed with certainty to François Mansart, confirming its importance in the history of French classical architecture. The successive protections (classifications and inscriptions) underline the exceptional heritage value of this site, both a witness to the political, artistic and social history of Ile-de-France.

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