Acquigny

Acquigny is a common French, located in the department of the the Eure and the area High-Normandy.

Geography

History

Martyrdom with Acquigny of the saints Mauxe and Vénérand (between): a vault in the cemetery perpetuates the memory of it. Celebrates the May 25th and the November 19th.

When this parish was without priest in 1840, the abbot Jacques-Desired Laval was going there to ensure the mass.

Administration

Demography

Places and monuments

Church Holy-Cecile
Castle and her park
…

Between the Eure and Iton

Acquigny developed with the confluence of two rivers: the the Eure, formerly navigable until Chartres, and the Iton diverted of its natural course by a forced arm built at the 12th century by the monks of Conches-in-Ouche to feed from the mills. This arm fed also the ditches of the castle and protected the priory Saint Mauxe and the medieval village located behind the current castle. The site profits from a remarkable landscape which radically changed since the end of the 19th century. The orchards of cherry trees and service-trees, the vines and the pastures with sheep of the high hills which border the Eure and protect the park from the winds from north and the east yielded the place to the bushes and the trees which impregnate the landscape of a great romanticism.

The castle

Since the Early middle ages the site was strengthened to control navigation on the Eure. Stake of the Franco-English wars free-Normans then during the One hundred Year old war the fortress was taken by the armies of Charles V in 1364 then shaven in 1378. The current castle was built as from 1557 by Anne of Montmorency-Laval, widow of Louis de Silly, cousin of the king and first lady-in-waiting of Catherine de Médicis. She wanted that the architect, Philibert Delorme or Jacques Androuet of the Hoop, take as a starting point his love eternal for her husband and build his residence by using their four initial interlaced. It is the origin of a complex plan and an original construction of a rare elegance centered on a turret of angle to loggia superimposed resting on a horn in the scallop shape. This frontage of honor is covered many decorative elements which celebrate this exceptional love and the glory of its family. Towards 1745 Pierre Robert the Russet-red one of Esneval, known under the name of president d' Acquigny, made increase the castle, bought in 1656 by its Claude great-great-grandfather the Russet-red one of Cambremont, of low wings with balusters. The same architect Charles Thibault rebuilt the Saint-Mauxe vault as well as the stables and handing-over. He built also an orangery, the church and “the small contiguous castle” intended to be a hermitage.

The small castle

President d' Acquigny, man of great piety, after having rebuilt the church, wished to finish his life as a hermit, alive according to the rule of the strict observance of the Large Trap door. End of this house, it could attend the offices celebrated in the church. The architecture of this construction is sober, but harmonious. The play of the colors - blue slate, pink brick, white stone - and symmetry play a crucial role in the beauty and the balance which emerge from this listed monument.

Walk with the current and of the history

Vast park of the 18th century to the regular drawing whose plan of 1784 is presented in the room of reception, there remains, around the kitchen garden, the general layout of the perpendicular water levels, but alignments of trees and the floors symmetrical disappeared. However of splendid limes or powerful chestnut trees which were freed from their geometrical form embellish wood. Two major elements, the kitchen garden and the orangery, found part of their last splendor. At the beginning of the 19th century, the rectilinear canal system was supplemented by a river with the sinuous course crossing by a romantic bridge and a way of rocks inspired of a expensive topic with Jean-Jacques Rousseau in the daydreams of a solitary walker. This river includes/understands also basins where the large trees are reflected and the castle on both sides of the cascatelles ones or the large cascade. During this walk appears the silhouette of the vault Saint-Mauxe, a tower of the 14th century protecting from now on Christ from the old cloister of the priory or a thatched cottage of the 18th century with its irises and sedum on the ridge sheathing.

The kitchen garden of the 18th century

Located at the end of the current park, the kitchen garden presents the exceptional characteristic to be simultaneously surrounded by high walls of pink bricks cooked on the field and of channels. These capped walls of a frame supporting a slate roof are trained beautiful imposing pear trees with their 15 or 20 branches. Its restoration started with the walls, the roofs, the channels and of the plantations. It continues with the return of the flowers.

The orangery

Conceived for president d' Acquigny about 1746 per Charles Thibault, the orangery shelters since its restoration a citrus fruits collection, palm trees and Mediterranean plants. It is also used as reception and concert, showroom (possible hiring). Its pink bricks, the blue gray of the lavenders, the blue sculptures of the cypresses of Arizona cut with Italian form a decoration of choice for citrus fruits out of pot laid out at the beautiful days in alley in front of orangery. Mediterranean plants or hot areas are planted along the frontage: officinal jasmine, pomegranate, passiflora, fremontodendron with the yellow flowers, jasminoïdes with the persistent foliage, vines…

The landscape park

Drawn about 1820, the landscape park was designed to emphasize the castle and the site. The alternation of the lawns, of the thickets of shrubs with flowers, rhododendrons and the water levels constitutes a harmonious landscape. It makes it possible to find the historical prospect for the valley of the Eure intended for the origin to supervise the river and to guess the valley of Iton. The plantations of trees were particularly happy. In this site heat and water combine themselves to allow an unusual development of the various species: the different plane trees cultivars reach 46 meters height here, will sophora them of Japan planted at the same time as that of the Botanical garden of the town of Paris are particularly remarkable as well as the beeches crimsons, pines laricio, sequoias, cypress bald people, limes of wood, chestnut trees… The diversity of the gasolines is renewed at the time of the plantations: cedars of Lebanon, the Atlas or the Himalayas, tulipiers of Virginia, féviers of America, umbrella pines, mulberry trees, micocouliers, cane-apple bushes or trees with the strawberries…

Opening of the park and the gardens of the castle of Acquigny

Saturdays, Sunday and bank holidays from April 9th to October 29th of 14:00 to 18:00 The every in July day - August of 14:00 to 19:00 Groups on go all the year

Around Acquigny you can discover

Garden of Miserey 25 km
Abbey Notre-Dame de Bonport with Bridge-in-the Arche 20 km
Park and castle of Bizy with Vernon 30 km
Garden of Claude Monet to Giverny 35 km

Information

Castle of Acquigny Tel.: 02 32 50 23 31 Faxes: 02 32 40 46 68 100 km of Paris, Highway of Normandy 35 km of Rouen and Giverny 17 km of Évreux

See too

Common of the Eure

External bonds

Acquigny on the site of the national geographical Institute
Acquigny on the site of INSEE
Acquigny on the site of Quid
Localization of Acquigny on a chart of France and communes bordering
Plane on Acquigny on Mapquest

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