A site that has never ceased to be ahead of its time, it has witnessed the evolution of society throughout the centuries.

The middle ages: The lords of Senlis, “grand masters of wine” for the first kings of France, erected a fortress at the Levis bridge in the middle of the swamp in Ermenonville, bolted to the road by 4 control towers.

1351: End of feudalism. The lords of Senlis sell to Robert de Lorris. First great revolution in France: the peasant’s revolt. Peasants, driven to desperation by poverty, set fire to Ermenonville castle.

The Modern ages: Louis XI – Henri IV and Dominique de Vic

1474: Louis XI often stays at Ermenonville castle. The end of the 16th century is a painful time. Religious wars, epidemics and famine bring the country to ruin. At Ermenonville there are no remaining lords. Dominique de Vic, a soldier, ‘the knight with the wooden leg’, buys the castle. King Henri IV, a good friend of Dominique de Vic, often comes to relax at Ermenonville castle, where he joins ‘the most beautiful woman of the kingdom’, Gabrielle d’Estrees.

1600-1700: The Vic family keep ownership of the castle for a century and a half. Passed through marriage to the Lambards who transform the castle in the first half of the 18th century.

1754: The Lombards sell Ermenonville to one of King Louis XV’s richest financiers, Rene Hatte, tax collector. Thanks to his considerable fortune, he is responsible for Ermenonville’s metamorphosis.

1766: The Marquis René de Girardin, René Hatte’s grandson, inherits Ermenonville castle. He creates a garden where he alone is visionary, creator, designer and patron. People come from all over the world to see the gardens surrounding the castle.