The Château Pastré, formerly known as the Chateau de Montredon, is a nineteenth-century building in the suburb of Montredon to the south of
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fran ...
, France. Originally the property of a wealthy merchant family, as of 2012, it housed the
Faïence
Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an oxide of tin to the slip of a lead glaze, was a major ad ...
pottery museum, the ''
Musée de la Faïence de Marseille
The Musée de la Faïence de Marseille was a museum in southern Marseille, France, dedicated to faience, a type of pottery. It opened to the public in June 1995 in Château Pastré at 157, Avenue de Montredon 13008 Marseille. It closed on 31 Decem ...
''. The grounds of the chateau are a public park.
Foundation
Eugène Pastré
Eugène Pastré (15 December 1806 – 1 March 1868) was a French shipowner and merchant, and the first owner of the Château Pastré in Marseille, France.
Businessman
Eugène Pastré was the son of the tanner and shipowner Jean François Pastr� ...
(1806–1868) and his wife Céline de Beaulincourt-Marle (1825–1900) belonged to a wealthy family of Marseille shipowners and merchants. Between 1836 and 1853, the Pastré family accumulated of land between
Pointe Rouge and the Grotte Rolland in the south of Marseille, which they made into a park. The natural vegetation would have been scrub, Aleppo pines, oaks, laurel and juniper.
Before the
Canal de Marseille The Canal de Marseille is a major source of drinking water for all of Marseille, the largest city in Provence, France. The canal along its main artery is long but has additional of minor arteries. Its construction lasted 15 years and was directed ...
was constructed to this point, the family had to go to great lengths to obtain water, with which they irrigated and created lawns in the lower levels
with gardens of vines, cereals and orchards of almonds, figs and apricot. The Pastrés had three large houses built in the park between 1845 and 1865: the Château Estrangin, Château Pastré and Château Sanderval.
Building
The Parisian architect
Jean-Charles Danjoy
Jean-Charles-Léon Danjoy (31 May 1806 – 4 September 1862) was a French architect who specialized in renovating historical buildings.
Biography
Danjoy was born on 31 May 1806 in Avensac in the Gers department of southwestern France.
In ...
designed the Château Pastré, the largest of the buildings, completed in 1862. The three-story building was designed to meet the needs of its owners for a place where they could hold entertainments for many people. The ''Nouvelle Revue'' in its gossip section ''Chronique de L'Élégance'' in 1884, described a play being presented at the home of Mme Pastre.
The chateau is located between the hills of
Marseilleveyre and the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...
, with large windows looking out over the park. The exterior design is elegant and warm. Jean Danjoy chose to design a reinterpretation of a building from the
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 ...
period. In the facade he blended bricks from Marseille with blonde stone from Arles. These meet in rhythmic curves and counter-curves.
Past residents
Eugène and Céline's son Ange André Pastré (1856–1926) was made a Roman Count. He married Claire Goldschmidt around 1885, and they had four children: Odette, Diane (1888–1971), Jean André and Louis.
Jean Pastré
Count Jean André Hubert Pastré (2 December 1888 – 29 June 1960) was a French polo player. He played polo at the 1924 Summer Olympics.
Early life
Jean Pastré was born in 1888. He was the son of Count Ange André Pastré (1856-1926) and ...
was born on 2 December 1888, in Marseille, and inherited the title of "Count". In 1918, he married Louise (Lily) Double. The couple had three children. Jean Pastré played on France's polo team in the 1924 Summer Olympic games. He died in Paris on 29 June 1960 at the age of 71. Their daughter Nadia Pastré helped in the escape lines for Allied prisoners during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
.
Countess
Lily Pastré
Countess Lily Pastré (a.k.a. Marie-Louise Double de Saint-Lambert) (1891–1974) was a French heiress and patron of the arts. She sheltered many Jewish artists in her Château Pastré in Marseille during World War II. After the war, she helped e ...
was born Louise Double de Saint Lambert in 1891. Her mother Véra Magnan was partly Russian, and was granddaughter of
Bernard Pierre Magnan Bernard Pierre Magnan (7 December 1791 in Paris – 29 May 1865 in Paris) was a Marshal of France.
Magnan started his career as an enlisted soldier of the 66th Line in 1809. Promoted to sergeant in 1810, the next year he entered the officers r ...
, a
Marshal of France
Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished ( ...
. Her father was Paul Double (1868–1935), son of Léon Double and Marie Prat (1849–1939). Marie Prat was the daughter of Claudius Prat (1814–1859), the co-founder of
Noilly Prat
Noilly Prat () is a brand of vermouth from France, owned by the Italian company Martini & Rossi, which is a subsidiary of Bacardi. "White" Noilly Prat is the archetype of dry, straw-coloured French vermouth. Noilly Prat now makes Red and Ambre ...
. Countess Lily Pastre inherited the Noilly Prat vermouth fortune. After Countess Lily and Jean Pastré divorced in 1940, she continued to live at the Chateau de Montredon. She turned it into a refuge for artists fleeing the Nazi regime in occupied France, of whom many were Jewish.
Lily Pastré remained on good terms with the authorities, and invited them to concerts that she arranged at the chateau. At the same time, she was sheltering Jewish composers and musicians, of whom perhaps forty stayed at the chateau at different times.
Norbert Glanzberg
Norbert Glanzberg (12 October 1910 in Rohatyn, Austria-Hungary – 25 February 2001 in Paris) was a Galician-born French composer. Mostly a composer of film music and songs, he was also notable for some famous songs of Édith Piaf.
In his twe ...
, who played piano for
Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf (, , ; born Édith Giovanna Gassion, ; December 19, 1915– October 10, 1963) was a French singer, lyricist and actress. Noted as France's national chanteuse, she was one of the country's most widely known international stars.
Pi ...
, was hidden at the chateau at the singer's request. The Spanish cellist
Pablo Casals
Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), usually known in English by his Castilian Spanish name Pablo Casals, and the American entertainer
Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...
both stayed at the chateau for a while, as did the pianist
Clara Haskil
Clara Haskil (7 January 1895 – 7 December 1960) was a Romanian classical pianist, renowned as an interpreter of the classical and early romantic repertoire. She was particularly noted for her performances and recordings of Mozart. She was also ...
.
On 27 July 1942, Pastre arranged for a performance of ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream
''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict ...
'' at the chateau. A young
Christian Dior
Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Christian Dior SE, which is now owned by parent company LVMH. His fashion houses a ...
made the costumes from the draperies of the chateau. The Orchèstre National de la Radiodiffusion Française, conducted by
Manuel Rosenthal
Manuel Rosenthal (18 June 1904 – 5 June 2003) was a French composer and conducting, conductor who held leading positions with musical organizations in France and America. He was friends with many contemporary composers, and despite a considerabl ...
, provided music.
The Germans occupied part of the chateau when they took over the south of France. They arrested and killed some of the guests found at the chateau.
After the war, Countess Lily contributed to the foundation of the
Aix-en-Provence Festival
The Festival d'Aix-en-Provence is an annual international music festival which takes place each summer in Aix-en-Provence, principally in July. Devoted mainly to opera, it also includes concerts of orchestral, chamber, vocal and solo instrumental ...
of music and arts. She died in 1974, having spent her entire fortune helping others, much of it during the war.
Recent years
Between 1966 and 1987, the city of Marseille bought almost all of the property, including the Château Pastré, Château Sanderval and the
bastide
Bastides are fortified new towns built in medieval Languedoc, Gascony, Aquitaine, England and Wales during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, although some authorities count Mont-de-Marsan and Montauban, which was founded in 1144, as ...
Clary. It had the Château Pastré carefully restored.
Since May 1995, it has housed the Faïence Museum, and displays more than 1,500 pieces crafted during a period spanning more than 7000 years.
Marseille has been chosen as the "European cultural capital" for 2013. As part of the preparation for this, the government plans to transfer the Faïence Museum to the
Château Borély
The Château Borély is a chateau in the southern part of Marseille, France. Associated with Borély park and Marseille Borély golf course, it has been listed as a historical monument since 1936, and has housed the Museum of Decorative Arts, Earth ...
, which will be adapted for the planned Museum of Decorative Arts and Fashion.
The grounds are now a public park commonly known as the ''Campagne Pastré.'' Of this, are formally laid out with lawns, woods and two artificial lakes, while have more natural vegetation. The central avenue from the entrance to the chateau is over long. Apart from the lakes, the park includes playgrounds, canal areas and hiking trails. The gardens are decorated with statues. From a steep hill, visitors have views of Marseille. The entire forested area of the park is part of the Calanques
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
. In 2021, the association Pour Que Marseille Vive proposed to rehabilitate the Château Pastré by installing an artists' incubator and a cultural place there.
The project was in negotiation with the town hall of Marseille.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chateau Pastre
Pastre
Museums in Marseille
Houses completed in 1862
1862 establishments in France