Château de la Celle

About

The castle of La Celle, also known as the castle of La Celle Saint-Cloud or the small castle, is a castle located in the commune of La Celle-Saint-Cloud, in the department of Yvelines (France), owned by the French State, the use of which is reserved for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Originally, a monastery essentially composed of a farm body and buildings to house the monks, it was sold in 1616. A building of what constitutes the middle of the present castle is then built and changes several times owner. Under Louis XIV, the Duke of the Rochefoucauld acquired it and completed it. The Marquise de Pompadour bought it in 1748 to relax and supervise the construction of its Bellevue castle in Meudon. She added new embellishments and welcomed Louis XV. In 1750 Jacques-Jérémie Roussel de Rocquencourt, a general farmer, bought the castle, which he enlarged by building the pavilion and the north wing, giving it its current configuration. From 1776 to 1804, it was purchased by Louis Pierre Parat de Chalandray, who transformed the French-style beds into a French-style garden, with the help of landscaper Jean-Marie Morel. For...