Château de Chamarande

A fortified château was built in the 16th century, probably for François Hurault (prévôt des marchands de Paris and personal friend of king Henry IV), who in 1563 acquired the two seigneuries which make up the present estate and took up residence here.

However, the château suffered in the Fronde and was in a poor state by the time it was sold in 1654 to Pierre Mérault, the former fermier des gabelles who had been promoted to a noble by buying a écuyership, who was also secretary to king Louis XIV.

In debt, Pierre Mérault sold the estate in 1684 to Clair Gilbert d'Ornaison known as Chamarande, top "valet de chambre" to Louis XIV.

In the 1780s, a water feature was added, with an island bordered by bald cypresses from Louisiana at its centre - it is traditionally attributed to the painter and garden designer Hubert Robert.

After the French Revolution, Louis-Justin, marquis de Talaru, bought the estate under the Consulate and carried out repairs, redesigning the park 'à l'anglaise'.

In 1852, the estate was sold to Pierre and René Robineau, and in 1857 it became the property of Victor Fialin, comte then duc de Persigny, interior minister to Napoléon III and French ambassador to the United Kingdom.

He created a luxuriously-furnished gallery on the château's ground floor, built a fortified wall round the estate, completed the transformation of the park into the "à l'anglaise" style and planted exotic trees.

In 1957, the last private owner was Auguste Mione, president of "La Construction moderne française", before the estate was bought in 1978, by the General Council of the Essonne.