It was centred around the former Château de Saint-Cloud, home of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans (1640–1701), which was destroyed by French bombing in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War after the Prussians had made a base of it.
The park is operated as a domaine national under the Ministry of Culture's Centre des monuments nationaux (CMN).
The park is located on the site of the Château de Saint-Cloud, a residence of royal and imperial families from the 16th century.
[1] The structure was completely razed in August 1892, politicians under the Third Republic believing it represented a reminder of France's imperial past.
[2] Painter Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944) painted a Parc de Saint-Cloud series in the early 20th century, before he became firmly associated with the abstract art movement.