To be closer of the king who lives in St Germain, René de Longueil makes build the castle de Maisons in the middle of the 17th century. He marries, in 1622 in the church of de Maisons, Madeleine Boulenc de Crévecoeur, 13-year-old. She dies in 1636 and leaves him 4 children. Very affected by this disappearance, he will never remarry. Her memory is evoked everywhere in the castle de Maisons by monograms in the double initials interlaced of Madeleine and René.

Louis XV thought, by twice, to bought the castle: for Madam de Pompadour then for Du Barry his mistress. After all it is the Count of Artois, Louis XVI’s brother, who became the owner in 1777 although he will never live in it.

The citizen Lanchère became the owner in 1797. Horse breeder, he lived only in the stables. In 1804, He resells the property to the Marshal Lannes.-------------Here photo of the sleepingroom of the Marshal Lannes.

In 1818, the castle becomes Jacques Laffitte's property. His father was a carpenter. Strong  financial difficulties are going to oblige him to resell an important part of its property. Laffitte  puts on sale plots of land on which the buyers are built villas. But he took care at the same time to save spaces not constructible (that is always the same in 2008)

Albine Laffitte, his daughter and princess of the Moscowa, sell the property in 1850 to Thomas of Colmar, creator of the Insurance company: " the Sun ". In Thomas's death of Colmar, a Russian named painter Vassili Tilmanovitch Grommé acquires the property in 1877. 

The State became the buyer of the castle. So the demolition will just be avoided in 1905. Since this date the castle belongs to the State.

That is the story of the castle call today Castle de Maisons Laffitte.

I wish you a pleasant week and thank you for your visit.

Josée