Château Bon

En un regard

Le château en bref

Château Bon, on Rue de Château Bon in the Font-Colombe park of the La Martelle district of Montpellier (Hérault), is a Montpellier folie built between 1694 and 1700 by the royal architect Augustin-Charles d'Aviler for Philibert de Bon, first president of the Montpellier Chamber of Accounts, on the mas de Terrade, in imitation of the pleasure houses of Marly, Saint-Cloud or Val. Heavily indebted, Philibert de Bon sold the estate before his death in 1711. Substantially remodelled between 1858 and 1862 by a 19th-century owner, the building received a Mansard-style slate roof in place of its original Languedocian roof, Napoleon III-style dormer windows, corner turrets topped with small belfries, and a façade decoration in the Louis XIII taste. The 5.2-hectare park was relaid by the landscape gardeners Denis and Eugène Bühler, with rare species. The original structure survives: a central block flanked by two short wings opening onto the entrance courtyard, comprising 17 rooms over 900 m² with a vaulted basement, and a 1.13-hectare garden with basins and fountains. The park, bought by the city of Montpellier, has been part of the public domain since 2010 under the name Font-Colombe park.