Nestled in the Marne Valley, the Grand Jardin castle shines in the town of Joinville. This castle testifies to the grandeur of its patron through its monumental Renaissance architecture as well as the sumptuous and immense garden that surrounds it.
1533 - 1546
Construction of the castle: a pleasure pavilion
It was during this period that the castle was built as a pleasure pavilion at the request of Claude de Lorraine, 1st Duke of Guise (1496 ✝ 1550) and his wife, Antoinette de Bourbon (1494 ✝ 1583). The Duke and the Duchess lived in the feudal castle located at the top of the hill of Joinville. The latter being "too small", they decided to build a pleasure pavilion downstairs, in the city. It is a place where parties, banquets and other festive gatherings were organized there.
The Renaissance garden
Plant heritage
To highlight his pavilion, the Duke of Guise had a delightful garden planted in the extension of the moat and the esplanade. It is in this Renaissance spirit, composed of compartmentalized and flowery parterres, interlacing and topiaries, squares of fruit and bouquet trees and a labyrinth; that the garden presents itself today, reconstituted.In the 19th century, the garden was transformed in the style of the time, in the English style. The curved line is favored here: the stream meanders between groves of large remarkable trees, the paths are lost in the undergrowth. Part of the park has been preserved in this radically different spirit of the Renaissance garden.
1978
Rescue operation
After a passage of the war, the pavilion is abandoned in an advanced state of degradation. The department of Haute-Marne decides to take over this castle to save it from ruin. In 1981, a campaign of works was launched, it will last almost 35 years. Among the most colossal projects: the moats backfilled in the 19th century have been cleared and flooded, the frame and roof have been completely restored and the gardens have been re-created.
The sustainability of the historic site is ensured by the department of Haute Marne which, on the one hand, concentrates on the restoration and maintenance sites of the castle, and on the other hand, the Haute-Marne Attractiveness Agency under the aegis of the community of communes, which manages the economic exploitation of the place. This division of tasks allows each team to put all its means into its objectives and to work in parallel. The castle being a public property (department), this place benefits from subsidies dedicated to the restoration and maintenance of the monument. The cultural exploitation of the site makes it possible to generate other sources of income for the castle. Although the question of ecology remains here unknown, as well as the economy, dependent on public subsidies, the other points of sustainability cultural and social are largely covered by the activities of the castle.
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