Castle in Seine-et-Marne, France
Château de la Grange-Bléneau
The Château de la Grange-Bléneau is a castle in the commune of Courpalay in the Seine-et-Marne département of France.
History
The castle was built in the 14th century.[ 1] It was altered in the 17th century.[ 1] Over the years, the castle has belonged to several families: Courtenay, Aubusson-La Feuillade and d'Aguesseau. Ownership passed from Henriette d'Aguesseau to her daughter Adrienne de La Fayette . She passed it on to her husband, General Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette , who lived there from 1802 until his death in 1834. Eight years after La Fayette's death, his grandson Jules de Lasteyrie (1810–1883) married Olivia de Rohan-Chabot (1813–1899), the daughter of the émigré Louis de Rohan, Vicomte de Chabot , and Lady Charlotte Fitzgerald , daughter of the second Duke of Leinster . They lived at la Grange-Bléneau for 54 years.[ 2] Their son, Louis de Lasteyrie, sold the home to his cousin, René de Chambrun , in 1935, with a life tenancy.
Upon the death of his cousin in 1955, René de Chambrun discovered the large cache of documents in the attic, and he founded a private museum to Lafayette.[ 3] He organized and described the family archives, a collection dating from 1457 to 1990.[ 4] The papers were microfilmed at La Grange in 1995 and 1996, for the Library of Congress .[ 5] Today, it is the property of the Josée and René de Chambrun Foundation , a charitable foundation charged with preserving the castle and its historical contents.[ 6]
Architectural significance
It has been listed as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture since April 15, 1942.[ 1]
See also
References
^ a b c Base Mérimée : Château de la Grange-Bléneau et sa chapelle , Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
^ René de Crambrun, Introduction, Adrienne: The Life of the Marquise de la Fayette , André Maurois; McGraw-Hill, 1961, p. viii
^ Giniger, Henry (19 June 1956). "Lafayette Papers Found in Castle; An Unused Tower of a Chateau Near Paris Yields Trove of Lafayette's Papers" . The New York Times . p. 31. Retrieved 18 March 2020 .
^ René de Crambrun, Introduction, Adrienne: The Life of the Marquise de la Fayette , André Maurois; McGraw-Hill, 1961, p. x
^ Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette Collection, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
^ Pourcher, Yves (Spring 2012). "Laval Museum". Historical Reflections . 38 (1): 105– 125. doi :10.3167/hrrh.2012.380108 .
48°39′43″N 2°56′59″E / 48.66194°N 2.94972°E / 48.66194; 2.94972