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Palace

Château du Grand Jardin

France · 16th century

Founded
1533
Heritage status
monument historique inscrit · classified historical monument
Location
Joinville
Coordinates
48.44639°, 5.14056°
Open on the map →Wikipedia ↗
Château du Grand Jardin in France
Photo: Aroche · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Description

The Château du Grand Jardin was a maison de plaisance attached to the seat at Joinville, Haute-Marne, France, of Claude de Lorraine, duc de Guise, who built it between 1533 and 1546 as a grand pavilion designed for fêtes and entertainments. The Château d'en-bas (the "Lower Château") as it was called at first, formed an annex to the medieval château fort overlooking Joinville, a stronghold of the House of Guise that was demolished at the French Revolution. In addition to its grand festive hall, which dominated the interior, were a suite of semi-private rooms to which the duke and duchess could withdraw with their most honored guests; they included a chamber preceded by its antechamber and a more private garde-robe within, but no bedrooms, as the seat of the Duke, the château de Joinville itself, was so near at hand.

The Château du Grand Jardin functioned as a banqueting house on the grandest scale, a fit demonstration of the power and prestige of the head of the House of Guise.

The site, partly in ruins, was purchased at the beginning of the 1980s by the conseil général of Haute-Marne. The building was restored, and the grand park created in the 19th century has been restored and replanted (illustration).

The site has also reacquired its original vocation as a place of culture: concerts of classical music are presented at the Grand Jardin, expositions of contemporary art, and colloquiums. The château du Grand Jardin is currently a member of the European network of Centres culturels de rencontre.

Text adapted from “Château du Grand Jardin” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

In the rankings

Château du Grand Jardin ranks #4,995 of 9,040 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #427 of the 787 mapped in France. Founded 1533, it is older than 40% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 887 atlas entries founded in the 16th century. 1 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Nancy, 81 km away. See how France compares in the castle statistics.

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