Château du duc d'Épernon 2.2

The Château du duc d'Épernon is a castle located in Fontenay-Trésigny, in the Brie region of France, 43km southeast of Paris. The castle stands alongside the Bréon stream and next to the Church of Saint-Martin, in the heart of a once walled old town, the history of which is closely linked to the history of the castle. The castellans were lords of Fontenay en Brie during the Old Regime.The castle has been classified as a Monument historique since 7 October 1963, and its park land is included in the List of Remarkable Gardens of France published by the French Ministry of Culture.Architectural descriptionThe architecture of the castle is marked by the different eras when it was rebuilt after falling more or less in ruins, with different styles. The medieval castle rebuilt by Jean Le Mercier after 1389 was enclosed by walls and moat around a courtyard with two drawbridges, north facing the church and south. The current building has retained the rectangular plan flanked by round towers. Guillaume Prudhomme undertook to rebuild the castle after 1538.The present Château du duc d'Épernon dates from the first half of the 17th century. The castle, built by Jean de Nogaret de La Valette, was planned as a pleasure palace. The rooms were made comfortable and decorated with tapestries and paintings. The ground floor and the guard room floor were covered with large glazed tiles.