Photo : Parisette / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Château d'Aunoy
The Château d'Aunoy, in the Seine-et-Marne, is known for being surrounded by one of the first English-style parks created in France.
A medieval building on the estate burned down completely in the mid-18th century. Its owner at the time, Jean Baptiste Chabert, a Paris financier, decided to build a new château, and his successors, such as Pierre Jean Baptiste Gerbier, a barrister and king's secretary, continued his work. The château became a genuine Louis XV 'folly'. One of its special features is the use of Saracen or Catalan vaults in every room, of which very few examples remain. This system does away with wood in the structure and makes the buildings fireproof, but requires walls two metres thick.
The park covers 16 hectares of greenery with statues, grottoes, ponds and remains of the old castle. The château was then the centre of a large estate. Today the château and park can be visited in the summer months, and the former pheasantry can be hired.
