And on my ever lasting road warrior trips ,and took the road again to cross over to the Essonne to see a first many times passed by it but this time stop for a look at the Château de Courances! The town of Courances is located in the Essonne department 91 in the Île-de-France region of my belle France, This is deep country and beautiful you need a car but darn worth it. I like to tell you a bit on this post about the Château de Courances ! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The town of Courances is in the area of the Gâtinais, on the border of Essonne, (91) Loiret (45) and Seine-et-Marne (77), and only 47 km from Paris. Its entrance is by the road D901 right between Dammarie en Lys in Seine et Marne (77) and Milly la Forêt in the Essonne (91) depts.
The story on the Château de Courances goes that in 1552, Côme Clausse, notary and King’s secretary, acquired from the Lapite family a stately home located in Courances, at the western end of the Fontainebleau forest. His grandson François, sold it in 1622 to Claude Gallard, notary and secretary to the King. He had an “H” layout castle built on a quadrangular platform surrounded by moats modernized the castle in 1775-1777 by opening new bays and adding a large pediment to each facade. Again, sold it in 1872 to the Berlin banker Baron Samuel de Haber, who then undertook the restoration of the château in the Louis XIII style. Adding zinc ornaments to the roofs. The interior ceremonial staircase in the shape of a horseshoe is demolished and monumental steps inspired by that of the Château de Fontainebleau are placed on each of the facades. A new wing, with a broken roof, is erected on the site of the old kitchens to house the master apartments and connected by a gallery to the old wing.
The 75-hectare park, considered one of the most beautiful in France, was started in the 16C by the Clausses and completed by the Gallards in the middle of the 17C. It is from this period that the alley of honor between two canals and the large perspective in the axis of the castle date, with its canals and its basins, including a long canal of 248 fathoms, scalling terrases and a water pond. In the 17C, the Marquise de Novion added the water mirror. In 1873, the English-style park, the horseshoe basin and the Aréthuse fountain, surmounted by a marble nymph sculpted in 1711 by Claude Poirier for the Marly park (the statue was acquired in 2005 by the Louvre Museum). In 1930, Marquise Jean de Ganay created an Anglo-Japanese style garden.
During WWI or the Great War , the castle housed an 80-bed hospital, the Auxiliary Hospital of the Relief Society for Military Wounded, During the WWII the castle was then occupied by the Nazis . Upon liberation, Field Marshal Montgomery made it his rear base. From his passage remained the billiards , In 1962, Henri Decoin used the castle to make it the residence of Mazarin and his mistress Anne of Austria in his film The Iron Mask with Jean Marais. The film Molière (2007) by Laurent Tirard was largely shot at the castle, Good movies great scenarios.
Other things to see in Courances is the Saint-Étienne church, and the 18C Lavoir or wash house. Also, Joan of Arc, a Catholic saint, stayed here.
The official Château de Courances : https://www.domainedecourances.com/
The local Milly la Forêt tourist office on castle of Courances : https://www.millylaforet-tourisme.com/en/file/677851/domaine-de-courances/
The Essonne dept 91 tourist office on castle of Courances : https://www.essonnetourisme.com/en/p/domaine-de-courances-2/
There you go folks, another dandy ride in my road warrior mode,again, And another first in my world map in quant countryside Courances !! Always so much to see in my belle France. This is the Château de Courances, Again ,hope you enjoy the post as I
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 
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