An 18th-century chateau listed as a historical monument where the writer Diderot stayed and that the fashion designer Lagerfeld owned, nestled in 13 h
An 18th-century chateau listed as a historical monument where the writer Diderot stayed and that the fashion designer Lagerfeld owned, nestled in 13 hectares of grounds with outhouses.
The property lies in the middle of the beautiful countryside of France's Champagne province, beside a village with fewer than 100 inhabitants. It is around 10 minutes from a lake that covers around 5,000 hectares: the Lac du Der-Chantecoq. This lake is known for its ornithological interest: each year, from mid-October to mid-March, it becomes a home to thousands of migrating common cranes - Europe's biggest wader, which has a two-metre wingspan. The lake has six beaches, three ports and a casino. You can enjoy fishing and water sports on this lake or go on walks along 250 kilometres of signposted footpaths around it. And cycle paths make it possible to ride a bicycle all the way around the lake over a distance of 38 kilometres. There is a train station in the nearby town of Vitry-le-François, which is around 13 kilometres from the property. From this station, you can get to Paris in 1 hour and 30 minutes by rail.
A long tree-lined driveway set back from a secondary road leads to a bridge that crosses the chateau's moat. At the end of this bridge there is the property's entrance gate.
The chateau and its grand court lie on a rectangular earthen terrace. To the right of them, there is a swimming pool and large outhouses forming a U shape.
The grounds extend behind the chateau, well beyond the moat. This vast rear section includes a stream and a patchwork of woodland and meadows that stretches to the River Marne and a private river beach.
The chateau was built between 1720 and 1740 by Jean-Robert Volland, France's chief salt tax officer. In 1755, his daughter Sophie was 39 years old when she met the writer and philosopher Denis Diderot, who was aged 42 at the time. Diderot stayed at the chateau on two occasions: in 1759 and 1770. His letters to Sophie Volland, written over a period of more than 14 years, form the most famous romantic correspondence of the 18th century.
The property was sold for the first time in 1773. It then changed owners three times. In 2001, the renowned fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld bought the chateau. He then sold it in 2011.
The chateau is currently rented out for short stays.
The chateauThe chateau is made of brick and Chaumont stone. It is crowned with a slate roof punctuated with dormers. The edifice was built on the site of a fortified building made of wood and cob filler.
From the grand court, you look up at a magnificent facade with harmonious proportions. Two pavilions protrude slightly at each end. The quoins, cornices and door and window surrounds are made of dressed stone left exposed. They stand out from the rendering that coats the rest of the elevations. There is a central bay framed between classical pilasters. In this bay there is a large entrance door of sculpted oak on the ground floor and a tall window with a semicircular arch top on the first floor. Above this door and window there is a triangular pediment with an open base line. This pediment bears the coat of arms of the Jacobé-Becquey family. These heraldic arms are crowned with a coronet. Keystones finely sculpted with floral motifs adorn the first-floor window surrounds.
The rear elevation is plainer in style. It faces the garden and the vast grounds behind the edifice. Its design is similar to the facade, though it includes a small wrought-iron balcony on the first floor in line with a wooden footbridge that crosses the moat in front of it. This footbridge can be half-raised like a drawbridge to complete the protection of the extensive area formed by the moat.
The ground floor
The entrance hall floor is adorned with stone slabs. Two levels of tall windows bathe the hall in natural light. The chateau's ...
