- Rendez-vous de l'Institut
- Conference
Le projet de restitution des jardins à la française du château de Dampierre-en-Yvelines by Pascal THEVARD – Château de Bénouville
Project to recreate the formal French gardens at the Château de Dampierre-en-Yvelines
The formal gardens of the Château de Dampierre-en-Yvelines were behind the property’s renown for over a century, before falling into oblivion in the late 18th century. The vast perspective designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, together with the eight ponds with fountains adorned the castle’s south facade, where Marie Leczinska and her husband, King Louis XV, loved to stroll. Thanks to recently discovered archives, this landscaped composition is the opposite of the site’s original design. 19th-century rearrangements gradually erased the original outline. Through changed ownership and within the framework of the site’s large-scale restoration, the project to recreate the formal gardens is a pertinent enterprise towards our understanding of the gardens of Dampierre-en-Yvelines.
Pascal Thévard
Pascal Thévard is the Dampierre-en-Yvelines Estate’s general manager and, for over 12 years, was director of buildings and gardens at the National Estate of Chambord, where he implemented projects to recreate both landscaped and formal gardens around the castle. A former civil servant with the French Ministry of Culture, he was in charge of operations to restore historic monuments since 1992. In Dampierre since 2019, he is not only responsible for work projects towards the site’s requalification, but also the development of tourism in this emblematic site in Ile de France and just a few kilometres from the Palace of Versailles.