The Musée du Domaine Royal de Marly, part II !!!

Posted in Europe, France, Versailles

Again, let me take you back to my former home area and more on the town of Marly le Roi, in the Yvelines dept 78 of the île de France region of my belle France. This is heaven ,history, architecture and good views all over. I have seen a lot but just touching the surface, there is so much more to see in my belle France!   I like to tell you about a royal castle that became a museum. I passed by here often and always a pleasure. Not to mention walked these places of history and beautiful quant villages/towns. I found me a couple pictures in my cd rom vaults that should be in my blog for you and me, Therefore, here is my take on the musée du Domaine Royal de Marly, part II  !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.

Here the garden fountains were supplied by the Marly machine,(see model pic) considered at the time to be the “8th wonder of the world”. The tour reveals the secrets of the workings of this machine, a gigantic wooden mechanism, which pumped water from the Seine river ,and transported it almost 2 km away to supply water to the gardens of Marly and then Versailles castles.

In 1676, Louis XIV purchased the lordships of Marly-le-Chastel and Marly-le-Bourg from the Montmorency family; these then became Marly-le-Roi. The king initially invited his close friends there and summarized the function of his three main residences thus: “I made Versailles for my Court, Trianon for my family, Marly for my friends.” Louis XV notably retreated there for a few days after the death of Queen Marie Leszczynska in June 1768. Courtiers could thus freely visit Marly for the day. This trend continued under Louis XVI: when the king and queen were away, the park at Marly was opened and became a place for walks. The château, which Marie Antoinette loved, was then regularly used by the court, particularly for hunts or for parties, such as the one given to celebrate the queen’s pregnancy in the autumn of 1778. The last royal stay took place in June 1789, during the mourning period for the Dauphin Louis-Joseph, eldest son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. As soon as the monarchy was abolished in 1789, the royal insignia were removed, valuable materials, such as the pipes, were extracted, the works of art were transported to the Louvre, and the furniture was sold at auction on site. In 1795, a regiment was stationed at the château: the soldiers contributed to the destruction of the buildings by ransacking them and using, for example, the woodwork as firewood. The failure to resell it to Napoleon between 1805 and 1806 accelerated the demolition of the castle, which disappeared entirely between 1808 (for the twelve pavilions) and 1816 (for the royal pavilion). Nothing visible of the château remains. You can see a model of the Château de Marly (see pic) in the new museum

The association Le Vieux Marly is the origin of the museum’s collections. An archaeological, historical, and artistic society founded in 1930, it studies and promotes the heritage of Marly-le-Roi. In 1934, Le Vieux Marly installed its assembled collections at the Pavillon du Butard in Vaucresson. During WWII, they found refuge in other museums, first at the Palace of Versailles and then at the Museum of Sceaux. On May 5, 1968, a new museum was inaugurated in the former kennel building, which now houses the Marly-le-Roi City/town hall. The collections displayed in two rooms are those of Le Vieux Marly and those from the Perceval donation. In 1971, the towns of Marly-le-Roi and Louveciennes,(see posts) linked by their shared history, joined forces to create a museum.

In 1976, the Intermunicipal Syndicate for a Single Purpose (SIVU) was founded, initially tasked with the study and construction of the future museum and subsequently with its management. Thus was born the “Musée-Promenade,” a name inspired by the stroll through the park of Marly that it invites visitors to take. Construction of the current building began in 1980, and it was inaugurated on October 18, 1982. The chosen location was the historic entrance to the royal estate of Marly, the Royal Gate. Following renovations carried out from 2017 to 2019, to align with its new museographic layout, the museum changed its name to the Musée du domaine royal de Marly or Museum of the Royal Estate of Marly.

The official musée du domaine royal de Marly : https://musee-domaine-marly.fr/

The city of Marly le Roi on the museum : https://www.marlyleroi.fr/Mus%c3%a9e-du-Domaine-royal-de-Marly/471/

The Seine St Germain en Laye tourist office on the Royal Domaine museum of Marly le Roi : https://www.seine-saintgermain.fr/en/file/760663/musee-du-domaine-royal-de-marly/

The Association Friends of the Domaine de Marly to keep it and improve it nicely for the future : https://www.amis-domaine-marly.fr/

There you folks, there is a lot more to see than castles here, and you should enjoy it all surrounded by lush surrounding in noble French traditions. Marly le Roi is a chic nice place to stroll and see the wonders of my belle France, Again, hope you enjoy the post on the musée du Domaine royal de Marly, part II  !!! as I.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

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Published by pedmar10

I am a lover of travels to Europe , Americas , Africa and Asia as well ,who like to share my experiences of the last 53 years with the world, visiting so far 81 countries; living in 6, working in 5, and Citizen of 4, speaking fluently 4 languages. I can deal with sports especially football/soccer and love music, arts, wine collector/drinker, and go out to restaurants, and just visit the world. My background comes all the way from Candelaria and Pajara in Tenerife, Spain where my grandparents came from ;not knowing each other then, to Punta Brava, west of Havana, Cuba. There , my parents born in Cuba met and later on I was born there too. 100% guanche (annexed Tenerife to Spain on April 10 ,1496). I left Cuba as many have to Madrid, Spain where I lived for 4 years. Then, move to Perth Amboy ,New Jersey USA (living there 13 yrs) ; where I completed high school, became a US Citizen, learned to drive a car, and learned English. Afterward, went to the university in Florida, ERAU, and upon graduation decided to moved there to Ormond by the Sea, near Daytona Beach, finally moving North Miami, then Hialeah, then another moved to Silver Lakes division in Miramar, Broward county, Florida; in Florida I lived a total of 18 years. Finally , moved to France in 2003 ,Versailles call me for its royalty, and working in Paris was great. It was time to seek frontiers again and moved to Brech near Auray, Morbihan in Brittany , and later move to not too far Pluvigner. Total so far in France has been 20 years, and counting. Moving average a home every 5.5 years hopefully this will be my last. Cheers All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the written permission of the copyright holder, me. No part of this work may be modified, without the written permission of the holder, me.No part of this work may be exposed to public view in any form or by any means, without identifying the holder as the author, and with the before mentioned permission.

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