How could he have all these houses built? He must have the philosopher's stone.
Comment of Louis XV, reported to Montesquieu (quoted by Pierre Boyé)
As soon as he was installed at Lunéville, Stanislas began work. Every day, the morning was devoted to his favourite pastime: surrounded by his seventeen architects, painters and sculptors, he examined the plans, decided on projects, discussed, ordered, personally directed the construction of his palaces and country houses; he went out to the sites to encourage the workmen, to see the effect of his combinations; he built, demolished, reconstruct and spent the best part of his revenues.
Gaston Maugras, La Cour de Lunéville au xviiie siecle (1904), p.209.
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| The residences of King Stanislas - adapted from Google Maps |
Chanteheux
Stanislas rapidly settled into a fruitful and creative relationship with his architect Emmanuel Héré. In the years 1738 to 1741 the latter embarked on a whole series of projects for his royal master: the château at La Malgrange and the nearby church of Bonsecours (1738-41); the Trèfle (1738) and the Pavillon de la Cascade (1743) at Lunéville; and the Hôtel des Missions in Nancy (1741-43). It was in 1741 too that he began work at Chanteheux to the east of Les Bosquets on an ambitious new pavilion which was to be the Trianon of Stanislas's "Versailles lorrain".
According to Pierre Boyé, Leopold had already planned to expand his park eastwards and to this end had bought several parcels of land adjoining the village of Chanteheux. But, by the time of his death, no work had been done: from his eastern parapet, between the Vezouze to his left and La Favorite on his right, Stanislas could contemplate only a vast plain. The river side was occupied by marshland and a series of fishponds. Beyond were the meadows, farmland and the copses of Chanteheux. The central avenue through the park, with its lime trees, diverged to the right in order to give direct access to the Château de Craon, three kilometres further on in Croismare.
In 1740 and 1741, via the intermediary of his Marshall, the Baron de Meszeck, Stanislas acquired the manor of Chanteheux and the adjoining lands. As a result the area of the Park was more than tripled. The new pavilion was sited on axis of the central avenue surrounded by parterres, with the ménagerie of the Duke and Duchess Ossolinski close by. As Pierre Boyé observed, the area remained rural, the château, isolated on its plain, "half-farm, half-palace". The land in front was given over to rabbit warrens where the Duke could hunt, and in his last years, to market gardens. Beyond were arbours and lawns. Visitors remarked on the "picturesque desolation".
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| Attributed to André Joly, Château royal de Chanteheux. Musée Lorrain https://amisdeversailles.com/activites/4922 |
The chateau itself, however, must have been an imposing sight. The painting above, from the Musée lorrain, shows the vista as visitors coming from Lunéville would have seen it. The central Salon rose up in three stories, progressively decreasing in size, wedding-cake fashion, whilst, on either side ran low wings, topped by galleries, which housed the offices, kitchens and stables. In all there were seventy six-circular bays. The two round towers at each side of the picture were dovecotes. The tiered design of the central building allowed the creation of three terraces, with a triple belt of balusters, urns and statues; on the summit monumental clocks took the place of pediments, whilst the chimneys were disguised as ornamental vases and firepots. The courtyard was enclosed by ornate wrought iron railings.
The rich architectural embellishment of the exterior was mirrored in the lavish rococo interior, an imposing open space with soaring dome, glittering with gilt and fake marble.
The duc de Luynes accompanied Louis XV to Chanteheux during his visit to Lorraine in September 1744:
The King went out on horseback at three o'clock, followed by a large cortege. The King of Poland left shortly before him, in a little carriage for one with a single horse, which he drove himself. He waited for the King at Chanteheux. This is a salon, a good half-league from Lunéville, which the King of Poland has had constructed in a farm. It is a salon only, a little smaller than Marly but much more ornate; it is surrounded on four sides by peristyles of a sort, separated from the main space only by columns of stucco which resembles marble. In each of the four corners is a marble mantelpiece with a mirror and a painting; the panels in the peristyles are also of coloured stucco made to resemble paintings. The site is in the middle of a plain; the view is extensive without being very ornate; there is much gilt: all in all, the appearance is magnificent, agreeable and singular. In the corners, behind the chimneys are three little chambers and a staircase leading upwards, for the Salon is high. It is topped by a dome, lit by several windows, above which is a balcony with an iron balustrade, where musicians can just fit... There is also a large building on the left of the entrance, with a yard, carriage houses and stables, as well as various lodgings. A balcony on the first floor and another higher up go all the way round the building. It is quarter of a league from the end of the park to Chanteheux; the park has no walls. Chanteheux is a real farm, on which the King of Poland has spent a great deal. He has made buildings for a sort of menagerie; among others there are two dovecots, one on the right and one on the left. On the side away from Lunéville, there is a large fountain, of agreeable appearance, and surrounded by a trellis.
Mémoires du duc de Luynes sur la cour de Louis XV, vol. 6, p.89
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View of Chanteheux from the north, originally from the gallery at Einville. Musée du château, Lunéville (Destroyed in 2003) |
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| Anonymous gouache showing the Grand Salon at Chanteheux, Formerly Musée du château, Lunéville (destroyed in 2003). https://pop.culture.gouv.fr/notice/memoire/IVR41_20165410693NUC2A |
Here is another description from an anonymous traveller who visited in 1753:
Chanteheux is incontestably the most beautiful, the richest and best decorated salon in the whole of Europe; it is unique of its kind; the King of France - assuredly someone used to fine houses - was so struck when he first entered that he exclaimed, "Papa there can only be one Chanteheux in the whole world".
To gain a true idea of this magnificent salon it should be approached from the gardens of Lunéville, a quarter of a league away; one arrives via an avenue of great trees. The facade of this building appears peculiar in design since there are no chimneys, or rather the chimney pots are disguised by eight vases fashioned into firepots placed along the roof. This rooftop space forms a wide terrace, where meals or gaming parties are often held in the fresh air.
The salon is divided into two rooms. The lower one... has a particular beauty due to its construction. It features sixteen columns of composite stone, made to imitate marble, which unite to form a pleasing vaulted archway. Large windows, which may be completely opened, occupy all four sides. The paving is a sort of faience. There are four great marble fountains featuring groups of children occupied in different exercises; each one has eight or ten jets of water cascading into a stone basin. In the middle of the room, on an imitation marble pedestal, is a reduced-sized copy of the statue of Louis XV in the Place Royale in Nancy.
Leaving this salon, one can never tire of admiring the turn and elevation of the magnificent staircase with its gold banisters. This leads up to the main salon, which is unique in its beauty - a true fairy palace. Since we have nothing resembling this style in France, it would be impossible to give an adequate description to someone who has not actually visited. ..
The rich decor, furnishings, paintings and sculpture, unite everything that connoisseurs and lovers of novelty could desire: the floor space, the elevation, the light, everything has been planned with the greatest artistry. The intelligence of the King can only be admired, since he not only has original ideas, but sees them executed to perfection.
The main salon is square-shaped, proportionate in width to the height, which is about fifty feet. The vault of the ceiling is decorated with beautiful paintings and, at the very top is a dome crossed by twelve twisted and gilded ribs. A musicians' gallery forms, as it were, a second floor......
The walls of the salon are so well painted and resemble marble so perfectly that the eye is readily deceived; there is much tasteful sculpted and gilded detail, on a variety of themes - the arts and sciences, harvest, hunting, the seasons.
Eight stucco columns, veined and polished like marble, are arranged in pairs around the central space. On each side, are three bays with windows of 12 feet by 15 feet, again opening completely, whilst the four corners boast stucco mantlepieces with mirrors. There are 35 chandeliers and 52 consoles with crystal candelabra; as may be readily appreciated, the resultant illumination cannot be described but has to be seen. The flooring is a mosaic of different coloured stucco and marble tiles. Paintings adorn the white and gilt walls and doors.
In the four corners are small cabinet rooms....The King's cabinet leads to a little apartment where he spends time painting....
BMN MS 1270 (783) Observations faites pendant le cours de mon voyage de Langres, de Nancy, de Toul, Commercy etc. L'an 1753. Reproduced in Ostrowski (1974), p.311-312.
What remains?
At the death of Stanislas the "Salon" was torn down, the ironwork of Jean Lamour and the lead statues of Guibal, the copper, marbles, all sold off, as were the 200 orange trees. Only a few farm buildings were spared.The commune of Chanteheux, which remarkably is still administratively distinct from Lunéville, has its "rue du Château", but there is no initial trace of any buildings. However, according to L'Est-Républicain, by turning your back on the former site, you can see the remains of the communs, now transformed into a farm and apartments To the rear is a tower, which was one of the dovecots, and the remains of the retaining wall. The property is private, but there are entries on Base Mérimée with photos and details.
An article on Chanteheux by the Polish scholar Jan Ostrowski, published in 1974, includes photos of the site as it was fifty years ago, and of various small surviving pieces of masonry (on a tomb in Lunéville cemetery and in the grounds of the Lycée Bichat).
References
Pierre Boyé, "Les châteaux du roi Stanislas - Chanteheux" , Revue Lorraine illustrée, vol. 2 (1907): p.129-135.
___, "Les châteaux du roi Stanislas - Destruction ", Vol. 4 (1909): p.153-165.
https://archive.org/details/revuelorraineill04unse/page/n145/mode/2up?view=theater
https://archive.org/details/revuelorraineill04unse/page/n145/mode/2up?view=theater
Jan K. Ostrowski, "Temple de plaisir" : Stanisław Leszczyński's unique palace at Chanteheux", Kwartalnik Architektury i Urbanistyki, 1974, Vol.19(4):p. 293-31. [Text in Polish only!]
https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/artdok/7544/1/Ostrowski_Temple_de_Plaisir_Niezwykly_palac_stanislawa_leszczynskiego_w_chanteheux_1974.pdf
https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/artdok/7544/1/Ostrowski_Temple_de_Plaisir_Niezwykly_palac_stanislawa_leszczynskiego_w_chanteheux_1974.pdf
BASE MÉRIMÉE:
"Château dit salon de Chanteheux"
"Ensemble des 2 communs et des 2 colombiers du château dit salon de Chanteheux puis ferme actuellement immeuble"
"Jardin du château de Chanteheux"
L'Est Républicain, "Sur les traces des Ducs de Lorraine à Chanteheux" 18.07.2015
Jolivet
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| View of the château de Jolivet, c. 1750. From the King's Cabinet at Lunéville. Private collection. [Image published on Facebook by 2J2D l'AGENCE.] |
The Château de Jolivet was a manor house about two kilometres north of Lunéville which Stanislas purchased from his captain of the guards, the marquis de Lambertye, in 1740, a few months after he came into possession of Chanteheux. The domain, originally called Huviller, adjoined Chanteheux at the extremity of the park. To reach it Stanislas constructed a bridge (the "pont vert") across the Vezouze, behind the Bas Bosquets. An avenue of lime trees then led across country to meet the road from Lunéville at the mission cross known as La Belle-Croix. A gently sloping path then led up to the little château. It was an easy and pleasant walk: Madame du Châtelet made the journey on foot in 1749 despite being in an advanced state of pregnancy.
The name, still retained by the present-day commune, evokes the fine view from the hilltop of Lunéville on the other side of the river (“au mont joli, je vais”) The seigneurie originally consisted of three farms, a sheepfold and 182 hectares. Stanislas extended the accommodation to provide a modest pavillon de plaisance for a small company - conveniently close to Chanteheux where there were no facilities for an overnight stay. On the ground floor was a vestibule and dining room, plus the king's cabinet and bedchamber. The first floor was reserved for the Queen and privileged guests.
What remains?
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| "Jolivet - Porte vestige du Château de Stanislas" - images from "SityTrail" https://www.sitytrail.com/es/poi/20673514-jolivet--jolivet-x-porte-vestige-du-chateau-de-stanislas |
Jolivet too boasts its "rue du château", but little now remains to be seen. The pavilion was destroyed in 1805, the land and buildings sold off piecemeal after 1835. The only substantial survival are the two pillars which once flanked the magnificent entrance gate. An old house nearby is said to have formed part of the communs: at one time it boasted a kitchen with a huge fireplace. Very recently, two monumental lions on the gates of the Château de Buzancy (Ardennes), formerly thought to have come from Lunéville, have been identified as originating in Jolivet. (For the eagle-eyed, they can just be seen on the terrace to the right in the anonymous painting above).
References
Pierre Boyé, "Les châteaux du roi Stanislas - Jolivet", Revue Lorraine illustrée, vol. 2 (1907): p.136-38. https://archive.org/details/revuelorraineill02unse/page/136/mode/2up?view=theater
L'Est-Républicain,"Sur les traces des Ducs de Lorraine à Jolivet", 11.07.2015
Einville
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| André Joly, Château d'Einville-au-Jard, viewed from the Grand Canal, Musée Lorrain [Wikimedia] |
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| View of Einville and its gallery from the Park. From the King's Cabinet at Lunéville. Private collection. [Image published on Facebook by 2J2D l'AGENCE - misidentified as La Malgrange.] |
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| Château d'Einville-au-Jard, c.1750.Lunéville, musée du château - canvas destroyed in 2003. Reproduced in L'Est Républicain |
The ancient ducal domain of Einville-au-Jard was situated about eight kilometres from Lunéville. From the pont Vert and its avenue, carriages would turn north at the carrefour de la Belle-Croix and continue on to the little town, which in 1768 boasted 186 households. Like Leopold and Elisabeth-Charlotte, Stanislas much appreciated the country location: he wrote to his daughter that he wished he could transport Einville to Versailles, since he knew that she too would appreciate it: "C’est un endroit champêtre, selon votre goût." (letter of 17th May 1759, cited by Pierre Boyé)
The Château itself had been reconstructed by Leopold in the early years of the century. The estate was subsequently given over to the marquis and marquise de Lambertye, though Elisabeth-Charlotte had carried out repairs in the early 1730s. The buildings were arranged around a U-shaped cour d'honneur, entered from what is now the place de la Fontaine. The main residence, was forty metres wide, and two storeys high, surrounded by various single story buildings, with tile roofs, the ensemble comparatively modest and unadorned. The house remained largely unaltered under Stanislas; according to the duc de Luynes, who visited with Louis XV in 1744, it resembled an "honnête ferme" - only the apartments of the Queen and the King had been refurbished, the latter without magnificence.
Mémoires du duc de Luynes sur la cour de Louis XV, vol. 6, p.107-
The real glory of Einville was its grounds, which Stanislas greatly extended and embellished. A formal garden had been laid out by Yves des Hours at the time of Leopold, with the River Sânon diverted into a canal to provide the central axis. To the west of the house twin parterres overlooked a substantial terrace. Under Stanislas the canal was made to issue forth from an oval basin. Bound by a colonnade, it extended 180 metres into the distance, ending in an elaborate cascade and grotto. Here, among the rocks and foliage, Stanislas had his "Tabagie" where, in imitation of the King of Prussia, he would retreat to smoke.
Contemporaries testify that the most remarkable feature of Einville was its "gallery", a fantastical space created for Stanislas by Héré, a sort of salon, set parallel to the canal which opened out into a series of elaborately trellised kiosks. Inside, along the whole length of one wall, were fourteen painted panels depicting the Kings's various residences. Opposite, fifteen windows overlooked the garden, presided over by statues of Ceres and Minerva. At the end were two delicately decorated Chinese cabinets. Two faience stoves provided heat and on nights of fête and theatre, the light from thirty-eight chandeliers reflected infinitely in the mirrored doors.
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| The gallery at Einville. Musée du Château de Lunéville [Images d'Art] Below: view of the interior from the Recueil of Héré [Wikimedia] .jpg) |
What remains?
After 1766 the estate was offered for sale by the French Crown without success, then leased out and systematically dismantled. In 1824 the remaining ruins and some of the adjoining lands was sold to a farmer from neighbouring Crévic who took possession of various pieces of garden sculpture, including a set of Four Seasons by Guibal. The remaining buildings were demolished and the park finally parcelled out and sold piecemeal. Guibal's statues subsequently adorned the Château de Crévic, which was destroyed in the First World War, then moved to Marshall Lyautey's residence at Thorey-Lyautey. It is not clear from the internet whether they are there now.
In the town itself there is not much left to see:
- Einville too has its rue du Château and also an extensive "Quartier du Château" which gives an echo of the considerable space once occupied by the lost palace. Some of the old houses still retain vestiges of the ducal cellars.
- The place de la Fontaine marked the entrance to the park from the town. The square was reconfigured in 1981 and the 19th-century fountain replaced by a replica. A Renaissance house, dating from 1590, known as the "Grand Pavilion", once an annex to the Château, was demolished at the same time.
- Gardens once covered the area as far as the Route Nationale (RD914). The ancient Ferme de La Rochelle (Bonviller) with its distinctive square towers, 2.5.kilometres to the south of the town marked its furthest extent. The park was originally surrounded by walls, which could still be seen in the early 20th century. From here the carriages entered the park, passing the guardhouse (destroyed in the First World War) and the bridge at La Gloriette.
- A covered carriageway in the Quartier du Château, and the buildings surrounding it, represent the last vestiges of the old outbuildings. In October 2022, an information board was erected under the vault; the association "Fastes et Lumières-La cour de Lunéville" dressed up for the occasion.
References
Pierre Boyé, "Les châteaux du roi Stanislas - II Einville" , Revue Lorraine illustrée, vol. 2 (1907): p.139-144.
Commune of Einville-au-Jard (website): Histoire
L'Est Républicain, "Sur les traces des Ducs de Lorraine: Einville-au-Jard : Le château et ses propriétés couraient jusqu’à l’actuelle RD 914", 23.08.2015:
_____, "Einville-au-Jard: La voûte, vestige unique du XVIIIe siècle", 17.05.2022.
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