The history of Domaine d'Harcourt begins with the History of Normandy. In 911, the Treaty of Saint Clair sur Epte was signed between the King of France Charles the Simple and Rollo, a Norman leader who invaded France, giving birth to Normandy. According to legend, Rollo gave the territory of Harcourt, made up of agricultural land, to his right-hand man, Bernard the Dane. It was in the 11th century that the first lord of Harcourt, Anchetil de Harcourt, appeared. Over the centuries, the history of the castle and of the Harcourt family will be closely linked to that of the Duchy of Normandy and therefore to that of France. Today, the Domaine d'Harcourt is made up of a medieval castle, a bicentenary arboretum and a forest.
The history of the construction of the Château d'Harcourt
The castle visible today, with its surrounding wall and moats, dates from the 12th and 14th centuries, there is no trace of the wooden castle and the motte that existed in the 11th century, built by Errand d'Harcourt, companion of William the Conqueror during the Battle of Hastings in 1066 (some members of the Harcourt family settled in England following this battle).
There are few traces mentioning the castle or the Harcourt family directly. Thus, the first written mention of the castle dates from 1173, in a charter of Robert II de Harcourt, companion of Richard Coeur de Lion, for the abbey of Bec-Hellouin. It was at this time that the square tower was built, as well as the surrounding wall flanked by semi-circular towers to protect it. The domain of Harcourt will obtain in 1339 an important privilege:the 6 châtellenies belonging to Jean IV are united to form a county. This development reflects the rise in power of those who are now the Counts of Harcourt. Thanks to this privilege, the Harcourt family will carry out work to enlarge and reorganize the castle, abandoning the northern access door to the lower courtyard and using the southern access, the "châtelet".
Because of the particular history of the Duchy of Normandy, during the 100 years war, the Harcourt family fought alongside England, then in a second time, after the execution of Jean V de Harcourt, the family rallied to France. The castle was thus the site of a confrontation between English and French, and the destruction of part of the surrounding wall in 1449 is still the witness today. Shortly after taking over the castle from the hands of the English, Jean VII will die without male descendants. The castle will then pass into the Lorraine family by marriage and will be abandoned in favor of the Duchy of Lorraine. In 1695, Françoise de Brancas, wife of a Duke of Lorraine, inherited the Château d'Harcourt.
Madame de Maintenon's furnishings
Familiar to the court of Versailles, confidante of Madame de Maintenon, she was part of the high aristocracy. She will then do everything to transform the old fortified castle into a modern residence, more in keeping with the classic fashion of the 17th century. She will thus fill in the ditches and knock down the ramparts to the east to build a rectangular terrace. Below this terrace, the large flowerbed corresponds to the French garden, probably planted by the Princess of Harcourt.
She will also redesign the east facade with limestone stones, install a Versailles-style parquet floor in some rooms of the castle , a large wrought iron staircase, and huge windows to ventilate this old castle. Françoise de Brancas thus gives two faces to the castle, erasing the medieval dwelling to the east and preserving the feudal vestiges to the west. The interior of the castle, unfurnished, has a classic appearance today, thanks to the modifications made at the end of the 17th century. But there are still the latrines and the garbage dump on the ground floor, dating from the 14th century.
Inhabited sporadically and little-known in the 18th century, the château faded away and the garden abandoned. In 1802, Louis-Gervais Delamare, lawyer and arborist, bought the mortgaged castle in order to exploit the land and experiment with growing trees.
Harcourt Arboretum
Louis-Gervais Delamare, a pioneer in his field at the dawn of the 19th century, first attempted to plant hardwoods in Harcourt, without success. He then decided to plant conifers such as larch, spruce or Weymouth pine. The remarkable results of his experimentation push him to planting based on diversity.
At his death in 1827, he bequeathed the Domaine d'Harcourt to the Royal Society of Agriculture, by a humanist and silvicultural will, inviting to continue his experiments and to share them . The various successive administrators will continue his experimentation, each in turn implanting different varieties of trees, in particular thanks to this ability to travel on all continents in order to seek unknown trees (Douglas pines, Ginkgo Biloba) but also European hardwoods by Maurice de Vilmorin (twisted beeches, cork oak). François André Michaux thus created the collection arboretum in 1833. In 1975, the settlement arboretum was created, to accommodate only species suitable for reforestation. Each species is therefore grown there in a bouquet of 25 to 30 subjects (cherries, service trees, maples, etc.)
In 1999, the French Academy of Agriculture donated the Domaine d'Harcourt to the department of the Eure which, since then, takes care of its management, its maintenance and its valorization, in particular by a differentiated management of the grounds, which allows a cleansing of the grounds and the development of new wild plants. The interests of the arboretum are multiple:scientific, documentary, educational and aesthetic interest.
Current excavations
As part of its conservation and enhancement program, the General Council of Eure has undertaken a vast program of excavations and restoration of the access door north of the barnyard, the ditches, the frame and the woodwork of the castle. Excavations regularly reveal new information about life in the castle and the use of the different spaces over the centuries, according to architectural developments.
Access to the Domaine d'Harcourt
Domaine d'Harcourt
13 Castle Street
27,800 Harcourt
Domaine d'Harcourt is open from March 1 to November 15.
Many activities throughout the year:guided tours, workshops, theme days...
For more information:www.harcourt-normandie.fr