19th Century Chateau Set Within the French Vexin Park
This property is on the market for €14,000,000, listed with Paris Ouest Sotheby's International Realty.
The magnificent neo-Renaissance, and also neo-Gothic Château de Dampont is set within a vast 172 acre domain in the Val-d'Oise, some 50km northwest of Paris on the right bank of the river Seine.
Château de Dampont was built 1852 and 1872 by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, a prominent French architect known to the general public for his work restoring medieval buildings and chateaux across France, including the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris.
Commissioned by Charles Guy Kersaint, the property was built on the site of the old manor of Damont, on lands inherited from his wife Laure du Tremblay of Saint-Yon.
The property was sold in the early 20th century, and in 1911 the parkland surrounding the chateau was transformed into a park by the famous French landscape architect Édouard Redont, known for his parks and gardens across Europe.
He created a series of follies and gardenscapes along the river Viosne, including a chapel ruin, a temple of love (complete with 6 Corinthian columns), bridges, gardens, and a pond, fed by the river.
Inside, the opulent French chateau offers over 17,000 square feet across 6 levels. The unique castle is built around a large, rectangular 4-storey tower, flanked with 2 smaller, 3-storey, turreted towers.
The apartments are located on the top floors of the chateau, and the reception rooms and lounges on the ground floor have a nearly 6500 square foot blueprint, with incredible volumes and featuring ornate detailing, seen in the parquet floors, gilded ceilings, and monumental fireplaces.
All of the furniture has been designed for each room according to its size, and reflects the bygone grandeur of the French art of living.
In one room, a large stained-glass bay window opens out to a balcony terrace with a double external staircase. In the library, an interior balcony is adorned with sculpted Atlaneans at its four corners.
With the sale of the estate is included: a large stable, a riding school, a charming barn and several renovated dwellings, including a caretaker’s house and habitable orangery.
All photos belong to the listing agency.