Prochain point : lat="49.0481" lon="1.87833"
Château de Rueil
Traces of the Choppin family in Seraincourt
A château with classic architecture...
Château de Rueil, consisting of a rectangular main building with two adjoining wings, stands in a vast wooded park with statues and water features. The three-storey building, built in brick and stone, has a high, slate-covered Mansard roof. The imposing entrance gate, mounted by stone lions, the square tower and the service quarters are the only parts that are visible from the road. The original château dates from the eighteenth century; it was built for the Choppin family who retained ownership for over two centuries. Remodeled in the nineteenth century, the castle boasts a dovecote tower built behind the service quarters.
Other famous people have stayed there including courtesan Ninon de l'Enclos, faithful friend of Monsieur de Valliquierville and the Marquise de Maintenon. The actress Pola Negri lived here from 1926 to 1929. She began her artistic career as a dancer at the Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg. She went on to do theatre and silent films, becoming a world star with Lubitsch’s film "Madame DuBarry" (1919). Her success led her to Hollywood in the 1920s. Ruined by the stock market crash of 1929, she had to sell the château. She emigrated to the United States in 1941, where she died in 1987.
... A transferred chapel
La chapelle Saint-Jean once stood at the bottom of the cul-de-sac that goes by the same name. Consecrated in 1408, the two-bay chapel was built in rendered stone; it has a small entrance, an arched window and a small bell tower. Demolished in 1888, it was rebuilt almost identically by the château on the grounds of the estate. The inhabitants of the village could attend services there until the 1960s.
