Château de Voltaire

The Château de Voltaire is located in Ferney-Voltaire (Ain) in France, close to the border with Switzerland and the city of Geneva.

Working with Geneva architect Jean-Michel Billon, he razed the existing structure and built the core of the current building before settling there in 1761.

Five years later, in 1766, wanting more space, he had the architect fr:Léonard Racle add the two wings, completing the current footprint of the building and removing the last vestiges of the older structure.

To the north, past the main salon, was a small room for paintings and the apartments of Mme Denis (Voltaire's niece and companion).

[8] Work on the structure and the interior was informed by reference to a very accurate model, made by a servant of Voltaire, bought by Catherine II of Russia and kept in Saint Petersburg, along with measured plans by the architect Leonard Racles and samples of upholstery and fabrics.

[12] He had his tomb built, in the shape of a pyramid, on the side of the building ("Evil people will say that I am neither inside nor outside")[13] though his body was never placed there since he died during a final visit to Paris.

[15] In 1882, the Lambert family obtained permission to reroute the Moëns road, finally making it possible to fulfill Voltaire's wish and to modify access to the chateau.

The caretaker's pavilion was built in 1885 near the new entrance by the Geneva architect de:Jacques-Elysée Goss at the request of Emile Lambert, owner of the castle from 1879 to 1897.

[17] This theatre presented the premieres of various plays authored by Voltaire, and he used this local stage to test his work before making any changes and having it performed in Paris.

[5] The park of the estate extends over seven hectares, allowing Voltaire to develop several spaces, including an arbour behind the house, an orchard, and several ponds.

He had some trees cleared in order to open up the view of the Alps and Mont-Blanc, and also built and planted a number of notable features such as the arbour, a formal garden, and a large terrace.

[16] Since 2018 and the reopening of the castle, exhibitions have been held every year and complete the visit, allowing visitors to discover new spaces such as the garden level or part of the first floor.