The Château de Monte-Cristo (Castle of Monte-Cristo) in Yvelines, France.
When he lived in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Alexandre Dumas liked to go for a walk in a vineyard located in Port-Marly (Yvelines). In 1844, in full glory, the famous writer bought this land and decided to build there not one but two castles. He entrusted this project to the architect Hippolyte Durand.
The main castle (dwelling) is built in a neo-Renaissance style, while the second small castle (called the Château d'If, which serves as its study) adopts a Neo-Gothic style (on the walls are inscribed the titles works of the artist).
The two buildings were inaugurated with great fanfare in the summer of 1847, during a “rack” with more than 600 guests.
Unfortunately, only a year later, Alexandre Dumas, ruined following the bankruptcy of his theater, was forced to sell the castle.
Abandoned later, the castle of Monte-Cristo almost disappeared in the 1960s following the interest of a real estate group who wanted to raze the castle to develop a new program. It owes its salvation only to the historian Alain Decaux who created the Society of Friends of Alexandre Dumas to protect the castle.
Finally, it was in 1970 that 3 municipalities (Port-Marly, Marly-le-Roi and Le Pecq) jointly bought the property and decided to renovate it with the support of patrons, in particular King Hassan II of Morocco.
The castle of Monte-Cristo is today a museum in memory of Alexandre Dumas.
Comments