The Château de Balleroy is a seventeenth-century

château A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. No ...

Balleroy Balleroy () is a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region of north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Balleroy-sur-Drôme. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Biardais'' o ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

Outlook

The fief of Balleroy, near the

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

and

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

Cerisy Cerisy (; pcd, Çrisin) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Cerisy is a small village in the district known as the Santerre, to the east of Amiens and 12 km from Albert. Cerisy is locat ...

, was acquired on April 1, 1600 by Jean de Choisy, wine supplier at the court of Henry IV. The castle was built from 1626 to 1636 by his son, Jean II de Choisy who became

State Councilor A state councillor () is a high-ranking position within the State Council, the executive organ of the Chinese government (comparable to a cabinet). It ranks immediately below the Vice-Premiers and above the ministers of various departments. Si ...

and

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the profligate

Gaston, Duke of Orléans ''Monsieur'' Gaston, Duke of Orléans (Gaston Jean Baptiste; 24 April 1608 – 2 February 1660), was the third son of King Henry IV of France and his second wife, Marie de' Medici. As a son of the king, he was born a '' Fils de France''. He late ...

, brother of

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...

who hired architect

François Mansart François Mansart (; 23 January 1598 – 23 September 1666) was a French architect credited with introducing classicism into Baroque architecture of France. The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' cites him as the most accomplished of 17th-century Fr ...

from 1634 for the reconstruction of the château de Blois. Chateau de Belleroy Boudan 1715

An architectural Louis XIII chef d'œuvre

The unknown architect, who had already drafted the plans of the

château de Berny A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...

, a remodeled dwelling for chancellor Pierre Brûlart de Sillery (1624-1625), came frequently to Balleroy from 1632 to 1634 and consigned the old plans of the former castle and village, that were shifted and laid around a main axis to enable a view on road, avenue or honorary path, moderate slope,

cour d'honneur A ''cour d'honneur'' (; ; german: Ehrenhof) is the principal and formal approach and forecourt of a large building. It is usually defined by two secondary wings projecting forward from the main central block ('' corps de logis''), sometimes w ...

framed by two square, long, low, common pavillons, covering floors of boxwood scrollwork, and a terrace surrounded by a

balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...

. A modern œuvre, which marks a turning point in the history of French architecture. Built in bricks,

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes ...

and pierre de Caen, the castle has a central pavillon topped by a

roof lantern A roof lantern is a daylighting architectural element. Architectural lanterns are part of a larger roof and provide natural light into the space or room below. In contemporary use it is an architectural skylight structure. A lantern roof w ...

flanked by two lower buildings. The others are set around the gardens draughted by

André Le Nôtre André Le Nôtre (; 12 March 1613 – 15 September 1700), originally rendered as André Le Nostre, was a French landscape architect and the principal gardener of King Louis XIV of France , house = Bourbon , father = Lo ...

. The interior of the castle offers a grand salon remarkable for its paintings of

Pierre Mignard Pierre Mignard or Pierre Mignard I (17 November 1612 – 30 May 1695), called "Mignard le Romain" to distinguish him from his brother Nicolas Mignard, was a French painter known for his religious and mythological scenes and portraits. He was a ...

: ''Le Char du Soleil,'' portraits of

and the family of his son

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ve ...

, wanted by Mme de Choisy. The jardin à la française is made up of boxwood floor carvings and a flanked terrasse of two pavillons. The castle dominates the river

Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.

. The garden is cited by

Philippe Thébaud Philippe is a masculine sometimes feminin given name, cognate to Philip. It may refer to: * Philippe of Belgium (born 1960), King of the Belgians (2013–present) * Philippe (footballer) (born 2000), Brazilian footballer * Prince Philippe, Count ...

among the prettiest gardens in France. The castle is ranked as a monument historique since January 18, 1951 in France.

Balloon Museum

One of the pavillons hosts the Ballons museum, by

Malcolm Forbes Malcolm Stevenson Forbes (August 19, 1919 – February 24, 1990) was an American entrepreneur most prominently known as the publisher of ''Forbes'' magazine, founded by his father B. C. Forbes. He was known as an avid promoter of capitalis ...

, which contains documents on the

Montgolfier brothers The Montgolfier brothers – Joseph-Michel Montgolfier (; 26 August 1740 – 26 June 1810) and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier (; 6 January 1745 – 2 August 1799) – were aviation pioneers, balloonists and paper manufacturers from the commune ...

. GrundrissSchlossBalleroy.png, FranceNormandieBalleroyChateauOuest.jpg, FranceNormandieBalleroyChateauNord.jpg, File:Château de Balleroy 2008 PD 13.JPG, File:Château de Balleroy 2008 PD 18.JPG,

Occupants

The most well-known of the family is Francois-Timoléon (1644-1724), 4th and last son of Jean III de Choisy, travestied by his mother when young — until the age of 18 —, to court

Anne of Austria Anne of Austria (french: Anne d'Autriche, italic=no, es, Ana María Mauricia, italic=no; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was an infanta of Spain who became Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XIII from their marriage in 1615 un ...

and introduce him to the entourage of her younger son, Philippe of Orléans, of which he became a young gaming companion; as an abbot, he left famous ''Mémoires pour servir l'histoire de Louis XIV'' (1737) ; he was sent as an ambassador to the

King of Siam The monarchy of Thailand (whose monarch is referred to as the king of Thailand; th, พระมหากษัตริย์ไทย, or historically, king of Siam; th, พระมหากษัตริย์สยาม) refers to the c ...

in view of a conversion to Catholicism ; in 1698, he sold Balleroy to the princesse d'Harcourt, born Françoise de Blacas. In 1704, the Balleroy land became a

marquisat A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

, to the benefit of one of his cousins. After the death of the two sons of ''la Cour de Balleroy'' during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

, their grandson only took possession in 1827 and remained the property of the inheritants till it was bought in 1970-1971 by millionaire American businessman

, director of ''

Forbes magazine ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

''. The current owner is Los Angeles philanthropist, Roy T Eddleman. Among the renowned inhabitants were

Albert de Balleroy Count, Comte Albert Felix Justin de la Cour de Balleroy (15 August 1828 – 19 August 1872) was a French people, French painter, etcher and parliamentarian. Biography Both a painter and an etching, etcher, Balleroy specialised in depicting subjec ...

(Albert Félix Justin de la Cour de Balleroy), 19th century

animal painter An animal painter is an artist who specialises in (or is known for their skill in) the portrayal of animals. The '' OED'' dates the first express use of the term "animal painter" to the mid-18th century: by English physician, naturalist and wr ...

, friend of

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. Bor ...

and the groupe des Batignolles; for of his tableaux representing hunting scenes deck the castle living room.

Empress Eugénie An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (emp ...

possessed one of his œuvres. a literary dwelling ?

Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel '' In Search of Lost Time'' (''À la recherche du temps perdu''; with the previous En ...

visited the castle along with Paul Helleu and may have made a transposition of the castle in ''

À la recherche du temps perdu ''In Search of Lost Time'' (french: À la recherche du temps perdu), first translated into English as ''Remembrance of Things Past'', and sometimes referred to in French as ''La Recherche'' (''The Search''), is a novel in seven volumes by French ...

'', which he renamed "château de Guermantes".

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chateau de Balleroy Châteaux in France Geography of Calvados (department) Ballooning museums