The park, the gardens and other riches of the Château de Bouges
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The park, the gardens and other
riches of the Château de Bouges
A natural treasure in a multitude 82 hectares of wild nature are managed to give
of styles the illusion of a totally natural setting.
Bouges was originally a rural manor house The last owners
with a fortified château. In 1759, Claude Leblanc
The château owes its appearance today to the
de Marnaval, Louis XV’s general tax collector,
Viguiers - Henri Viguier, director of the Bazar de
purchased the land, and replaced the old château
l’Hôtel de Ville, a large Parisian department store,
with an elegant “Italian-style” building. The trees
and his wife Renée, who bought Bouges in 1917.
planted along the impressive bridle path mostly
In 1920, Renée Viguier created the flower garden
date from the end of the 18th century, while the
on the site of the kitchen garden, a wonderful
first English-style landscape design of the park
place that evolves throughout the year with
dates from the early 19th century.
its seasonal blooms destined to decorate the
In the early 20th century, the park and French-style
château, which is never without flowers thanks
garden were modified by the landscape designers
to the propagation greenhouses.
Duchêne and son, and their layout remains
Having no descendants, in 1967 the Viguiers
virtually unchanged today. There is an abundant
bequeathed the estate to the Caisse nationale
variety of tree and conifer species in the park.
des monuments historiques et des sites, now
The magnificent autumn colours are resplendent,
the Centre des monuments nationaux.
and blend together in reflections on the lake.
Visit
The natural environment of the Château de of the last owners. Today, the late 19th century
Bouges presents a number of garden styles, greenhouses enable plants to be conserved and
encouraging visitors to stroll around, and offering grown for the garden.
beautiful views. This 82-hectare park contains
rare species.
3
2
1
N
The great east/west perspective
4 This two-kilometre axis gives the estate
The service courtyard structure, and passes through the château. It
dates from the second half of the 18th century.
1 This is surrounded by buildings that reveal
On the west side of the château is a pool and
Henri Viguier’s passion for horse riding: stables, a buffet d’eau fountain, extended by a green
tack room and an orangery at the end of the carpet. M. and Mme Viguier closed off the view
courtyard (formerly used as a garage). There is by installing a 17th century gate that they walled
a large collection of saddles, harnesses and riding up to insert the head of a river god. On either
boots on display here. Henri Viguier owned side, vases with masks of sea monsters emphasise
his own racing stable with navy blue and daffodil the aquatic theme of the ensemble, and echo the
yellow racing colours. putto of the pool.
The farm courtyard The formal French-style garden
2 In the centre, a foot basin was used to clean 5 This is more evident in the north part with
the horses’ hooves. In one building, there are the boxwood broderies whose design, with its
fifteen horse-drawn carriages, each with a palmetto motif, was reworked at the time of
specific use. M. and Mme Viguier. In the centre of the main
parterre, a marble sculpted group represents
The flower garden Hercules fighting Cacus. The detailed musculature
and the dynamism of the twisting bodies make
3 The flower garden or “florists” garden was
this sculpture reminiscent of the work of
created by Mme Viguier on the site of the former
Jean de Bologne. The whole garden is framed
kitchen garden, retaining its previous layout of
by yew trees.
squares and recalling the king’s kitchen garden
at Versailles. The flowers grown here are used to
create bouquets for the château as in the time
Signs indicate two trails (30 and 45 mins) for
the visitor to discover the park’s “remarkable”
tree species.
7
see glossary.
B
8
C
D
11 A
9
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E
4
6
G 10
5 F
12 Keep away from the
edges of the lake..
At Bouges, the Duchêne landscape designers
used the pre-existing pool, enlarging it to suit
The English-style park
the size of the park.
6 In the 18th century, the English introduced Madame’s path
a more natural element into garden design,
with non-native trees in large expanses of lawn, 7 This path, at the edge of the wooded area,
winding paths and a border of evergreen trees was Mme Viguier’s favourite walk.
to outline the park and separate it from the
surrounding area. The entrance to the English- The bee hole
style park is marked by two impressively tall
lime trees that are over 150 years old. Among 8 This place has long accommodated beehives.
the numerous varieties of lime trees are, on the It is still strewn with honey-producing plants that
left, a small-leaved lime, and on the right, a silver attract the bees with their nectar and pollen. On
lime. English-style parks were embellished with the left, in the park’s only opening to the exterior,
“follies”: (pagodas, pavilions, grottos, etc) and is a statue of a lion hunting, visible from the
water features (waterfalls, fountains, a lake, etc). château.
9 The hydraulic network The east view
The estate was originally much more extensive 12 This is defined by the bridle path that extends
and contained two lakes. Today, the upper lake for 2 km and is planted with horse chestnuts,
is no longer part of the estate. Fed by several plane trees, lime trees and elms. It is the main
different streams, they are connected to each entrance to the château. M. Viguier used to
other by a drainage channel. The outlet, situated exercise his horses here. It ends right next to
near the hunting lodges, enables any “overflow” the château, with mineral broderies.
to be managed.
The hunting lodges
10 At the time of the last owners, the estate
covered over 3,000 hectares, two thirds of which
were devoted to hunting. Bouges was, at that
time, France’s second hunting ground for small
game after Chambord.
The boxwood path and the ice house
11 The one hundred year old boxwood path
leads to the ice house hidden behind a hedge,
in front of which stands a Medici vase on a pink
marble plinth. Half way up, on the left, just after
the intersection of the paths leading to the
château, a statue of Venus from 1777 looks as if Rendez-vous at the gardens:
it has been deliberately hidden in the greenery. on the first weekend of June each year,
She conceals a Cupid at her feet. this event, organised by the Ministry of
Culture, brings together over 2,300 parks
and gardens - historic and contemporary,
private and public - which welcome over
two million visitors.
Chronology
1897 to 1909: Duchêne and his son, landscape
designers, recreate the French-style garden and
the park, which has remained virtually unchanged
to this day.
1917: purchased by Henri and Renée Viguier.
1920: creation of the flower garden by Renée
Viguier on the site of the kitchen garden. The
kitchen garden is moved next to the orchard.
The Bouges Garden, design by Achille Duchêne, around 1900. 1952: dead trees along the bridle path are
Paris, Musée des Arts Décoratifs
replaced.
917: first mention of Bouges in the archives. 1961 and 1997: classified as a historic monument.
1519 to1547: Catherine de Medici takes 1967: bequeathed to the Caisse nationale des
possession of the Bouges land, and later gives it monuments historiques et des sites (today the
to her first steward, Jean-Baptiste Seghizo. Centre des monuments nationaux.)
1759 to 1773: the present château is built by 1980: a cedar by the back wall of the château,
Claude Leblanc de Marnaval. is felled, having become too dangerous. The
1760 to 1770: the bridle path is planted. flower garden is re-established, after having been
1781: the estate is bought by the Marquis de rented out.
Rochedragon. 2004: prestigious ‘Remarkable Garden’ title
1793: a garden design is produced, comprising a awarded by French Ministry of Culture.
kitchen garden with an ambulatory of yew trees 2007 to 2011: replacement of some of the trees
clipped into cubes and cones, and ornamental on the bridle path that were felled after horse
plum trees. chestnut tree disease and the severe summer
1818: Talleyrand, who already owns the Château storm of 2001.
de Valençay, buys Bouges for the Duchesse de 2012 to 2013: restoration of the greenhouses.
Dino. 2013: classified as a “Remarkable Collection of
1826: purchased by Georges Timothée Masson. Trees”.
1830 to 1840: the surrounding woods are 2014: restoration of the statues in the park.
transformed into an English-style landscaped park;
the pond is enlarged to form a small lake.
1857: Adolphe Dufour, and subsequently his son
Henri, turn Bouges into a luxurious residence by
beginning restructuring work and modernisation.
1880 to 1910: intervention by the architect
Alfred Dauvergne on part of the park’s
balustrades, and creation of the steps linking
the château to the service courtyard. The ice
house is renovated.
Glossary
crédits photos © Gillard et Vincent, château de Bouges, Étienne Revault / Centre des monuments nationaux ; © Paris, Les Arts décoratifs / L. Sully Jaulmes ; Région Centre-Val de Loire, Inventaire général, Vanessa Lamorlette-Pingard. illustrations François Brosse.
The letters refer to the trees on the drawing of Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron gigantheum):
the park overleaf. introduced into Europe in 1853. In the United
A Ginkgo (Gingko biloba), also known in France States, it holds the record for age (2,000 years),
as the “tree of 40 pieces of gold”: native to the volume and weight (up to 10m wide).
Far East. It belongs to the Ginkgoaceae family, the G Purple beech (Fagus sylvatica purpurea): the
most ancient known family of trees, and appeared purple beech is essentially an ornamental tree.
over 270 million years ago. It changes colour with the seasons.
Common Lobel elm (Ulmus): a species that has
almost disappeared through Dutch elm disease. The
park at Bouges still has a few specimens.
B The Virginia tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera):
native to the southern and eastern regions of the
USA. Tulip-shaped flowers bloom in May-June. Practical information
C Holm oak (Quercus ilex): tree with evergreen
foliage resembling holly, a spreading habit and Self-guided tour of the park and gardens.
a short, twisted trunk. The château is open with a guided tour only.
D Liquidambar or American sweet gum Times and rates are available in the reception
(Liquidambar styraciflua): introduced into Europe in area.
conception graphique Marie-Hélène Forestier. traduction Traducteo. Imprimé en France, 2021.
1681, this ornamental tree with a narrow pyramid
Centre des monuments nationaux
shape has foliage that changes colour. It is often Château de Bouges
confused with the maple because of the shape 15 rue du Château
36110 Bouges-le-Château
of its lobed leaves and its autumn colour, tél. 02 54 35 88 26
a magnificent flame red.
www.chateau-bouges.fr
E Weeping willow (Salix babylonica): native to www.facebook.com/chateaudebouges
China, it was introduced into Europe in 1692. It www.monuments-nationaux.fr
takes its name from its large pendulous branches.
F Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum): this is one
of the few conifers to lose its needles in winter. Its
roots, or pneumatophores, which project above the
riverbank, provide good structural support in soft
soil, and allow a good supply of water and air.
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