This was a historical visit lol! Actually passed by it several times and never got in until one day we had time and finally went in!! It was a memorable visit and we remember fondly especially the garden with my dear late wife Martine. Thereafter we came several times. Therefore, here is my take on the Château de La Roche Guyon, part I !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
This is an updated older post with new text and links for you and me. It is always good to have nice memories ,and the Castle of La Roche Guyon is one of them, Let me tell you a bit about La Roche Guyon in dept 95 Val-d’Oise in the Île-de-France region of my belle France. At the junction of the three departments of Val-d’Oise (95), Yvelines(78) and Eure (27). It is about 66 km from Paris, 40 km from Pontoise, and .72 km from Versailles, Very nicely along the A13 by car, direction from Paris on the autoroute A13 of Normandie, direction Rouen, at Mantes exit 14 take it followed direction Limay than Vétheuil./La Roche Guyon or even better the A15/D14 more scenic out of Paris. We always stop by La Roche Guyon, make it a one two punch hard to resist while driving this beautiful area great for weekends. It is true that it has been a while now living out west in Brittany but this one should worth the detour for all indeed.
The castle and gardens visit is done following the terraces, then along and inside the salons or rooms, then the circuit of donjons /towers, and chapels, then the casements. Dont forget to visit the gardens just in front of castle towards the Seine river. The Duchess of Enville makes a theater room fitted out in La Roche-Guyon including machinery and sets like the great Parisian theaters. This rather modest size room 40-50 spectators was inaugurated in October 1768 under the large lounge des tapestries, and it presents the particularity of being entirely troglodyte. Restorations led by the Heritage Foundation and the Stéphane Bern mission is ongoing. The vegetable garden of the Château de la Roche-Guyon, reconstituted and an area of about three hectares.
The arts is very much involved with the history of the castle;some of the more notables are mentioned by Renault Le Ménestrel in Galeran de Bretagne, courteous novel of the 13C. A manuscript of the Book of the Chastel de Labor, moralist novel in verse, intended for young graduates singles on the eve of the wedding, written at most around 1370 by Jacques Bruyant, and having belonged to Guy Le Bouteillier, was kept at the Free Library of Philadelphia in the United States following the donation of the Widener family in 1944. In the 19C Claude Monet, who resided not far in Vétheuil and then in Giverny, also painted landscapes of La Roche-Guyon and its cliffs. In the 20C, Georges Braque represented the village in 1909 during its so-called analytical cubism period. On the 19C, one of its owners and inhabitants, the prince of Léon, Duke of La Roche-Guyon in 1816 and Cardinal Louis François de Rohan- Chabot received Alphonse de Lamartine who wrote one of her most admirable poetic meditations there:la Semaine sainte à la Roche-Guyon or the Holy Week in La Roche-Guyon at the famous first verse: here come the last noises of the world. The abbé Dupanloup entered the seminar in 1819, ordered a priest in 1822, successively sacred Archbishop of Auch in 1828 then of Besançon and finally made cardinal in 1830 he was mentioned in the Les Mémoires d’outre-tombe or the memories from beyond the grave and served as a model for Stendhal for the character of the prelate to which appears the young Julien Sorel in Le Rouge et le Noir or the red and the black ,November 1830.
Other things to see in La Roche Guyon are : The Saint-Samson Church with construction begins in 1404, when King Charles VI grants authorization to build a parish church outside the perimeter of the castle. However, the work is soon interrupted by the Hundred Years War, and only resumed in the second quarter of the following century. The City/Town Hall and covered market, The Monumental fountain built in 1742 , it was surmounted by a shield, with the arms of the La Rochefoucauld, which gave its name. The Casemates dug behind the castle during WWII. Nazi general Erwin Rommel installed his headquarters there for some time after the Normandy landing which earned the village to be bombed by Allied aviation. The Salt attic, or Gabelle hotel a small 18C building, which currently houses the tourist office. The Les Boves, route de Gasny ,characteristic of troglodyte villages. These cellars dug in the cliff were used to house the wine reserves.
A bit of history I like tell us that in the 3C , the troglodyctives caves, and the local lord Guy eventually gave the name to Roche Guyon. History tell us that from the year 911 , the treaty of Saint Clair sur Epte giving Normandy to the Vikings, the Roche Guyon kept the limits of the frontier with the French kingdom over the Seine river. The French revolution has a tragic and bloody event here, as the owner of the castle was Louis Alexandre de La Rochefoucauld , he was very close to the ideals of the American Revolution and translate to French all the articles of the constitution of the States of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina with first editions in 1778. He along with the Marquis de Lafayette, joined the estates generals and guided in principles the avenants of the French revolution, elected President of the department of Paris in 1791. Aftet the revolutionaries turn against him for fear of his democratic ideals, he take refuge with his wife and mother at Forges-les-Eaux where he hides there but in september 4, 1792 while doing a carriage transfer at Gisors he is arrested and massacre by stoning while his mother and wife looks on in disbelief. More than 1000 are taken prisioners there and killed, the mother the Duchess of Enville is spare with the daughter in law by the intervention of the local people who appreciated their support. She died in Paris in 1797 and the grandson continues with the property of Roche Guyon
which eventually passes to his heir, the Cardinal Rohan. Some renovation is done to preserve the castle from lack of care in years later. Then WWII starts, from 1940 the village is occupied by the nazis, and on 1943 a civil defense field created. In February 1944, marshal Rommel established his command HQ in the Château de La Roche-Guyon. The town is liberated the 8 august 1944 after 8 bombs hits the Chateau , taking about 20 yrs to make it back to how it was before the war.
The official Château de La Roche Guyon: https://www.chateaudelarocheguyon.fr/
The Plus Beaux Villages de France on La Roche Guyon : https://www.les-plus-beaux-villages-de-france.org/fr/nos-villages/la-roche-guyon/
The town of La Roche Guyon on its heritage : https://www.larocheguyon.fr/en/services/decouvrir-la-roche-guyon-a-pied
There you go folks, this is a nice wonderful historical spot and a historical place to visit and the views over the garden and into the Seine river are sublime. Again, hope you enjoy the Château de La Roche Guyon, part I !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 