Photo : Chabe01 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Château du Parangon
The Château du Parangon, at Joinville-le-Pont in the Val-de-Marne, was built in the second half of the 17th century by the Amelot family, who called it their 'country house'. Its gardens were designed by Le Nôtre, but almost nothing of them remains. The ironwork of the staircase and balconies dates from the second half of the 18th century, and the north wing at right angles was added after 1810.
According to one source, Madame de La Fayette made it a place of literary gatherings around 1670. From 1857 it housed a vocational school, then, from 1902 to 1914, the colonial practical school of agriculture, commerce and industry. Its façades, roofs and gateway have been protected as historic monuments since 1976. Owned by the Val-de-Marne département, it now houses social services.
