Photo : François GOGLINS / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Château du Jard
The Louis XIII façades of the Château du Jard, in the Seine-et-Marne, are the only remnant of the old Abbey of Saint-Jean-Baptiste du Jard, founded by Queen Adèle of Champagne between 1199 and 1204. She was particularly fond of her Le Jard estate, where she had a summer residence built and where she is said to have given birth to the future king Philip Augustus in 1165. She reportedly decided to turn the house into an abbey after the death of Louis VII in 1180.
The abbey received the canons regular of Saint-Victor and in 1631 adopted the reformed constitution of Sainte-Geneviève. Renovations were carried out between 1660 and 1689, including the present building, a central wing later left standing alone, which then housed the abbot's residence. As they threatened to collapse, the oldest parts of the abbey were demolished. The church, however, seems to have been in good condition when the monks were dispersed and the buildings sold as national property in 1791.
