This is one of those towns we came in my local road warrior trails while living in Versailles, the choices are endless just here alone. It is worth the detour for the quant pretty real towns and villages of my belle France, I am glad to have found me this picture in my cd rom vault that made me do it for you and me. Therefore, here is my take on this is Bullion !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The village of Bullion is located in the Yvelines department no, 78 in the Île-de-France region of my belle France. The village is located 16 km from Rambouillet, 13 km from Dourdan, and Chevreuse, 30 km from Versailles,and 434 km from my current home, The village is crossed by the D149 road which leads to Dampierre-en-Yvelines and Rochefort-en-Yvelines as well as by the D132 road which leads to Bonnelles and towards Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines, I came from Versailles, along the D91 road or Rue du Maréchal Joffre passing by the potager du roi and parc Balbi (see posts) to connect with the N12 highway dir Dreux but get off at exit/sortie 5 on Avenue des Garennes continues same road Route de Guyancourt bear right briefly on the D36 and quickly bear left onto the D91 road by Voisins le Bretonneux continue same road dir Dampierre en Yvelines continue until just before the village of Garnes bear left onto the D149 road past the village of Senlisse to connect left turn onto the D906 briefly before a quick right back onto the D149 and here you will ahead on your right hand side the Castle of Ronqueux and a bit further the village center of Buillon ,and the church.
The Château de Ronqueux castle was built in 1910, on the site of an old castle attested at the end of the 18C. The estate and its residence belonged to Viscount Alexandre Elisabeth Michel Digeon, a soldier decorated with the Legion of Honor for the Battle of Austerlitz and the Battle of Friedland. After his death in 1826, the Castle was sold before the Duchess of Uzès, Grande Veneuse de France, added it to her many properties in 1887, At the end of the 19C, a Parisian banker, Jacques Lehideux, bought Ronqueux and had this triangular castle built in 1910 near the ruins of the old , During WWII the castle was occupied by nazis troops. It was partly destroyed by fire in 1945. Since 2009, the Château de Ronqueux has been exclusively dedicated to hosting business seminars as I visited it.
The castle is very refined, soothing, and modern decor, featuring raw materials: stone, wood, and iron. A loft-like feel and a Zen atmosphere facilitate communication, exchanges, and conviviality among participants. They can relax in the wellness area with a hammam, fitness room, and hydromassage beds, located in one of the towers of the triangular building. Conferences and business seminars can be held in peace and quiet, in bright meeting rooms equipped with the latest technology. This 117-hectare site, located in the Ronqueux Departmental Forest, stretches along the sandy slopes of the Aulne Valley. Oak and chestnut trees dominate the forest, a refuge for deer, roe deer, wild boar, and more, as well as some thirty species of birds!
The Church of Saint Vincent and Saint Sebastian was originally built in the 11C, it underwent successive transformations up until the 16C. The general shape is a rectangle measuring 31.50 meters by 16 meters, ending on a semicircular chevet with a radius of 3 meters. A gable crowns the western façade, pierced by three doors, and a square bell tower, topped with a slate spire, rises above the north aisle. The three doors in the façade provide access to the three naves of unequal width; the central nave and the two side aisles, vaulted in different ways, leading to the choir, then to the apse and the two chapels flanking the choir to the north and south.
Other things to see here are the Sainte-Anne Chapel of Moutiers , formerly called the Sainte-Anne priory Sainte-Scariberge, where the Moutiers washhouse is located, deserves special attention. In the immediate vicinity there is a fountain, a washhouse and a drinking trough. The fountain was originally dedicated to Saint Scariberge. The latter was the wife of the future Saint Arnoult and niece of Clovis. She retired to the forest of Yvelines and founded the monastery of Saint-Rémy des Landes there. This place has been highly honored since the Middle Ages and many pilgrims come for its miraculous water, The village of Bullion has four wash houses within its territory, the first three of which are supplied by a spring: The Valentins wash house, near the Cousin stream, built in 1877 and renovated in 1994. The wash house on Rue Saint-Vincent in the village. The wash house in the hamlet of Moutiers, supplied by a spring that constantly supplies the fountain, the wash house, and the drinking trough before emptying into the Sainte Anne river. The wash house in the hamlet of Longchêne, located on the edge of a pond. Apart from the Longchêne mill, which is somewhat abandoned and less well-maintained, these mills were located on the courses of the Aulne and Rabette rivers. The Poterie mill belonged to the Duke of Uzès when its operation was interrupted at the end of the 19C. the Béchereau mill, it was located on the Aulne, the Bullion mill at Carneaux, the Galetterie mill, it remained in operation until 1910, and the Guédone mill, Guédosne, Guédonne, Gué d’Aulne (today).
A bit of history I like tell us that in the 2C, Bullion was located near the old Gallic road linking Lutetia to Carnotum and passing through Limours, Bonnelles, Rochefort, Saint-Arnoult and then the Roman road from Dreux to Corbeil via Vieille-Église, La Celle-les-Bordes, Bonnelles, Rochefort, Limours, Briis and Arpajon. In 615, Bertrand, bishop of Le Mans (586 to 623), renewed in his will the donation he had made of the Bualone estate in favor of his great-grandnephew Leuthrannus, on the day of his wedding. He tells us that the village of Bullion was part of the country of Étampes, and of the ancient city of the Carnutes, located on the border of Hurepoix and the Chartres region. Bullion depended on the diocese of Chartres and the deanery of Rochefort. Its history will then be linked to that of the surrounding region and the country of Étampes which, at the beginning of the 10C, were ravaged and totally devastated by Rollon and his Normans. This is how the lordships of Montfort and then Rochefort-en-Yvelines were formed. From the beginning of the 11C, Yvelines was composed of three domains: that of the lords of Montfort, that of the lord or count of Rochefort with Rochefort, Bullion and Saint Arnoult and many other territories located outside Yvelines, and that of the provostship of Saint-Léger. On March 5, 1482, Jean de la Motte, squire, found himself in possession of the land and lordship of Boullon. On January 17, 1495, he took the title of lord of Carnaux and Boullon and died in 1509. In June 1611, Claude de Bullion acquired the castle, lands and lordships of Boullon and Carnaux with high and low justice and became Lord of Bullion, was superintendent of finances for King Louis XIII. It was he who created the Louis d’or ( the common denomination of French gold coins minted from 1640 to 1792) by substituting it for the Livre tournois ( originally minted in Tours and used in France under the Ancien Régime.). In April 1636, he founded, in his lordship of Bullion, a school for thirteen poor little children from this parish or neighboring villages. He died in December 1640 of a stroke. The generous donations of his widow Angélique Faure de Bullion enabled the creation by Jeanne Mance of the Hôtel-Dieu of Montreal, Canada in 1645.
The village of Bullion on its heritage : https://www.bullion.fr/index.php/decouverte-animations/histoire-et-patrimoine/nature-patrimoine
The Parc Naturel Régional de la Haute Vallée de Chevreuse on Bullion: https://www.parc-naturel-chevreuse.fr/un-territoire-preserve/le-patrimoine-dans-les-55-communes/la-carte-des-communes-du-parc/bullion
There you go folks, enjoy this wonderful ride into the French soul, and the countryside of the Yvelines dept 78 at quant nice off the beaten path village of Buillon, there is a lot more to see around here ! Again ,hope you enjoy this post on this is Buillon !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 