The Château Rothschild is a historic

château A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, 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 re ...

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris ...

near Paris, France.

History

The château was built in 1855 for banker James Mayer de Rothschild. It was designed by architect Joseph-Armand Berthelin. Guests included President

Adolphe Thiers Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers ( ; ; 15 April 17973 September 1877) was a French statesman and historian who served as President of France from 1871 to 1873. He was the second elected president and the first of the Third French Republic. Thi ...

and Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau.Boulogne. L'ancien château des Rothschild attend son sauveur
''

Le Parisien ''Le Parisien'' (; ) is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news, and local news of Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of ...

'', August 5, 2014 It was inherited by James's son, Edmond James de Rothschild. After Edmond's death in 1934, the Rothschild family no longer lived at the château, even though his daughter, Alexandrine de Rothschild, took care of the grounds surrounding it. During World War II, the château was taken over by the

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...

, the Nazi Navy. After the liberation of France, it was used by American forces. The Kriegsmarine and US forces also used another Rothschild residence, the

Château de la Muette The Château de la Muette () is a château located on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France, near the Porte de la Muette. It is the OECD's headquarters. Three châteaux have been located on the site since a hunting lodge was transfo ...

3.5 km away on the edge of Paris. It was acquired by Saudi Prince Khalid I Abdulaziz al-Ibrahim in 1986.Olivier Bossut
Le prince saoudien va sauver le château Rothschild
''Le Parisien'', September 8, 2003A Boulogne, le prince saoudien promet de réparer son château
'' 20 minutes'', September 10, 2003 The château was sold to French property developer Novaxia in 2016. After 37 years of neglect, the Château Rothschild will be restored, with work beginning in 2020.

References

Houses completed in 1855 Châteaux in Hauts-de-Seine Kriegsmarine Rothschild family residences Properties confiscated from Jews under Nazi rule {{France-castle-stub