Château de la Madeleine

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Château de la Madeleine overlooks the town of Chevreuse (Yvelines), in the upper Chevreuse valley. Founded between the late 10th and the 11th century by the lords of Chevreuse, it was given a stone curtain wall in the 12th century, and round towers were added in the 13th century. In 1356 Pierre de Chevreuse undertook major works there. Raised to a duchy in the 16th century for Anne de Pisseleu, the stronghold suffered during the Wars of Religion. Around 1661-1662, Jean Racine supervised works on the keep. The de Luynes family bought the château back in 1853, and it was restored at the end of the 19th century. The Yvelines departmental council acquired the ruins in 1981, and major rescue works began in 1985. The surviving remains include the curtain wall, two square towers on the village side, the entrance gate flanked by towers, two round towers, a 15th-century well and the rectangular keep, one of the best-preserved in Île-de-France. Listed as a monument historique (Mérimée PA00087405), the château houses the headquarters of the Parc naturel régional de la haute vallée de Chevreuse; the upper courtyard is freely accessible.