Château de Marchais

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Château de Marchais was built around 1535–1540 by Nicolas de Longueval, Count of Bossut, superintendent of finances to King Francis I, replacing an earlier medieval fortress. The Renaissance-style building, inspired by the châteaux of the Loire Valley such as Azay-le-Rideau, consists of a main residential block framed by two pavilions, two return wings and a pavilion housing a two-storey chapel; built entirely of brick with stone door and window surrounds, it is covered with tall French-style slate roofs and flanked by corner bartizans. In the mid-16th century the estate passed to Cardinal Charles de Lorraine, then remained in the Guise family until the 17th century, before passing through several successive owners, including the House of Condé and later the Binet family. In 1836 Count Achille Delamare acquired it and carried out major restorations. In 1854 the estate was purchased by Antoinette-Ghislaine de Mérode, Princess of Monaco and mother of Prince Albert I, and it has since remained a property of Monaco's princely family. Prince Albert I married Mary Victoria Hamilton there in 1869, and Prince Charles III died there in 1889. Damaged during the German occupation in the First World War, the château remains today a private residence of the Grimaldi family and is not open to visitors.