Jewish castle – Wikipedia

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The Jewish castle , also known as châtel of or Clementigney Castle or of Clemtigney , is one of the most remarkable particular residences of Besançon (Doubs). It is located in the bordering town of Chalezeule, a stone’s throw from the historic district of Bregille and on Mont de Brégille. The base building was built on an unknown date, but the first traces about it date back to the end of XVIII It is century, before the powerful Lippmann family became owner. It is also one of their descendants, Léonie Allegri, who asks the Architect Franc-Comtois Alphonse Delacroix to transform him into a real castle. Between 1850 and 1870, he gave birth to the building as we know it today, with its Gothic style and its characteristic scan. The dynamism of the owner and her confession, give the house his nickname still current, the “Jewish castle”. After the 1914 war, the building changed hands and became a restaurant-restaurant renowned for its quality gastronomy and remarkable sets, gaining a national reputation and attracting several celebrities. However, this vocation ended in the early 2000s, when the last chef died, the castle, since then, finding a purely residential function.

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First home [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The Château de la Jew is located at number three of Chemin des Buis, administratively in the town of Chalezeule, but almost bordering on the Bregille district, in Besançon. It was built on land which belonged, in 1248, in the chapter of Sainte-Madelaine, before being officially integrated into the parish of Chalezeule in XVI It is century. It stands at the end of the Mont de Brégille, opposite the Montfaucon castle, stuck in a wooded park [ first ] .

The building would have served as a Bauffremont prince’s hunting relay [ 2 ] , [ 3 ] , but the first known owner of the house was Monsignor de Fresnoy in 1780, who then held a country house of his wife Jeanne Antoine de la Grée, as well as more than two thirds of the town of Chalezeule [ first ] . This character was the lord of Land in Picardy, knight of Saint-Louis, captain in the regiment of Monsieur and will be the last lord of the commune, since he will be elected mayor under the name of Defresnoy [ first ] .

The Châtel de Clémentigney brings together during hunting meetings all the nobility of Franche-Comté and major festivals take place there until the Revolution [ 3 ] .

In the first cadastres, in 1835, the building appeared as the property of Mr. Mayer Lippman (1770-1849) [ a ] , without anyone knowing that it was the purchase of goods or speculation [ 4 ] . The Lippman family, of Jewish confession, is established in Besançon during the Revolution [ 5 ] , when three brothers from Sarre-Union (Bas-Rhin)-of which Mayer and Alphonse designated as Watter merchants-come to live at the Loray Terrier Hotel, at 68 of the Grande Rue. The Lippman family will be founder of the LIP manufacture [ 6 ] .

Mayer Lippman, then known as the wealthiest Jew in the city, restores the old seigniorial house [ 3 ] And makes the building its country house, decorating it and moving it richly according to the fashion of the time [ 4 ] . He married Babette Lévy, of whom he has four children: Alfred (merchant in Marseille), Auguste (banker in Paris), Nathalie and Dina (1805-1842) [ 4 ] . The latter, married to the Parisian banker Bénédict Baruch Allegri (1790-1882), died after giving birth in Paris, in 1827, to Reine-Précieuse-Léonie Allegri [ 4 ] , [ 7 ] , [ 2 ] , [ 8 ] .

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Birth of the castle [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Initials intertwined with Léonie Allegri at the castle (RPLA).

The country house with its nine hectares then returns to Benedict Baruch Allegri, widower of Dina Lippman (or Lippmann [ 9 ] ). But the goods contained in the building are not part of the inheritance and are therefore sold at auction by the master auctioneers Capron and Guidet, at the Loray Terrier Hotel: all the sumptuous furniture is dispersed, as well as more 4,000 bottles, large Bordeaux wines in particular.

Baruch Allegri endowed his precious daughter-Reine-Léonie (1827-1904) of the house, during his marriage to Paul-Félix Bernheim (or Bernham [ 9 ] ). Léonie, “whose beauty and kindness attract all the sympathies” [ 3 ] , will transform the house into a castle and which will leave him his nickname – while he herself designated himself more elegantly by the expression “lady of Clementigney” [ 4 ] , [ ten ] , [ 2 ] .

The Allegri-Bernheim couple live between Paris and the castle. Léonie Allegri then charged the architect Alphonse Delacroix to completely reshape the country house, and makes it a real Gothic style castle: staircase turret, scalable, etc. The interior decor follows the same current, with many neogothic woodwork [ 11 ] .

Statue of Alphonse Delacroix in Alaise.

Paul Bernheim died in the property on November 13, 1858, at the age of 35, and his precious widow-Reine-Léonie remarried five years later, in June 1863 [ 9 ] , [ 8 ] , with Charles-Déoda-Raymond [ twelfth ] (1834 –1871 [ 13 ] ), count of Turenne, descendant of Louis XIV – before to do this converted to Christianity [ 3 ] . Marriage arouses attention by the union between a Jew and a Catholic, which requires a dispensation of the Pope in person. The marriage contract between the two parties is largely to the advantage of Count Charles Déodat who wishes to restore her tarnished coat of arms [ 3 ] And brings only a title of nobility in return for the exclusive enjoyment of the house and several million in shares and obligations. In his Châtel, Léonie receives important personalities such as the Duke of Aumale or Monsieur de Valois [ 3 ] . After the birth of three girls (Aimée-Marguerite-Hermine, Irene, Henriette-Amélie), two of which will be religious [ 3 ] , Charles Déodat will show great infidelity, before dying, on July 3, 1871, at the age of 37 years [ 14 ] , [ 15 ] . Long grieved by the attitude of her husband and the failure of her marriage [ 3 ] , Léonie Allegri becomes widow for the second time, and then lives especially in the French capital, without abandoning the castle [ 16 ] .

His daughter Henriette died there on December 21, 1883, before Léonie died in turn in Paris, March 14, 1914, leaving the building to her eldest daughter Aimée-Marguerite-Hermine (born July 12, 1864 [ 17 ] ) – His other Irene sister having become Carmelite. Aimée-Marguerite Allegri, known as Countess Hermine, married to Henri Bijasson, lives mainly in Paris or Sannois and sometimes stays at the castle where she employs luxurious crews and dresses with sumptuous toilets; Her great generosity makes her famous from Besançon to Paris [ 3 ] , [ 18 ] .

However, the First World War put an end to its travels between the capital and Besançon, especially since the corporal Louis Varotte of the 227 It is Regiment Infantry Regiment, 34 years old and farmer at the Jewish castle with his wife Marie-Louise [ b ] , was killed on April 11, 1916 at the Avaucourt Bois in Argonne. His death thus has a fatal blow to the farm of the field [ 16 ] .

Transformation a restaurant [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Overview of the building today.

On June 17, 1919, the Jewish castle became the property, for the sum of 60,000 francs, of Élie Fourcasse, who also made him his country house. This man, son of a watchmaker in the Petit Batteant district , becomes a box editor for watches, then marries Jeanne-Marie Victorine Martin who made a fortune in the trading [ 16 ] . The new owner does not hesitate to sell the collection of weapons of the castle, probably from Turenne’s time, thus pocketing the purchase price of the building more than twice [ 19 ] .

His daughter Berthe, wife of Hippolite Dolo, engineer of arts and trades, received the domain in a marriage during her marriage in 1921, but the building in poor condition will finally be sold, on March 15, 1926, to Joseph Périat. The latter, of Swiss origin, chef at the royal court of England, decides to develop a restaurant in the castle. The notoriety of the domain then goes far beyond the region, thanks to the culinary talents of its owner, but also with the exceptional decor which accompanies the meal of the hosts. Despite everything, Périat resolved to sell the castle to Alain Gerber, on January 12, 1939, following recurring health problems. He also sold the restaurant fund on February 17 of the same year, in Henri Nussbaum [ 19 ] .

During the Second World War, Henri Nussbaum tried to maintain the reputation of the castle, despite the increasingly heavy restrictions. Moreover, he underwent strong pressures during the liberation because of his German clientele, in addition to the inconvenience caused by a German tank having destroyed the gates at the entrance.

On December 10, 1948, Alain Gerber, still owner of the estate, decided to sell him for the sum of two million francs to a couple of cultivators, Francine and Camille Barthot-Malat. The act of the lever notary describes the good as well as “15 pieces heated to the central heating, a pavilion in the appendix, laundry room, garage, workshop on Caves, a six -room farmhouse, stable, barn, hangar, three tanks, park, orchard, meadows and greenhouse. »»

The farm was rented to Henri Converset from 1937 and the meadows to M. Mercier in 1948. Camille Barthot-Malat yielded the castle in 1955 as well as her 1,25 hectare park in René Gavet and his wife Myriam, and the fund hotel the following year [ 20 ] .

  • Peinture sur verre sur l'une des portes du château : des légumes

    Glass painting on one of the doors of the castle: vegetables

  • Peinture sur verre sur l'une des portes du château : des poissons.

    Painting on glass on one of the doors of the castle: fish.

Of our time [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Personalities like Johnny Hallyday have stayed in the building.

René Gavet, renowned as an excellent chief-kitchen, gives the castle his reputation of yesteryear. He restores it with his wife and two daughters, and reopens the restaurant with a hotel industry [ 20 ] . Many personalities form its customers, notably Georges Bidault, Tino Rossi, Marie-José de Belgique or Johnny Hallyday. Typical Franc-Comtoises specialties are served there, such as Morteau sausage or yellow wine and morel trout. The writer Guy des Cars stayed there in 1956, to write his novel entitled The Jewish Castle , inspired by this place [ ten ] . Louis Néel learned of his obtaining the Nobel Prize in Physics in October 1970 [ 20 ] .

In the 1970s, a miniature golf course was set up in the park as well as seats carved in stone, but the whole will be refurbished a few years later in Chalezeule.

The restaurant closes its doors definitively after René Gavet’s death, June 21, 2002. The castle was sold, in July 2002, from 381,122 € € And since then, several owners have succeeded it. The latter would be Bordeaux who would have transformed the house into five apartments [ 20 ] .

Detail of the castle staircase tower.

General and exterior appearance [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The Jewish castle stands in front of the ruins of the old castle of Montfaucon, on the other side of the Doubs [ 3 ] .

It was recomposed, between 1850 and 1870, by the Franc-Comtois architect Alphonse Delacroix, who rebuilt him almost entirely from previous vestiges. The architectural style of the house is largely dominated by the neo -Gothic style, with in particular its staircase turret and its scalable. The castle consists of a home, outbuildings, a farm as well as a park.

On the entry grids, there are still the arms of the Count of Turenne [ 3 ] .

Monument [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Since December 27, 2002, the main building with its sets, the eastern facade of the commons building, the park with its closing wall and its portal-almost all of the building-are registered in historic monuments. In February 2002, the park was classified as wooded space to keep and, too, recognized “historic monument” [ 21 ] .

Interior appearance, sets and furniture [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The interior decor is dominated by neogothic woodwork, but modifications and additions were practiced during the 1950s [ 21 ] . Turenne’s furniture, which had been scattered following an auction, has completely disappeared, with the exception of a room: the reception room. The glass windows of the Second Empire, the walls and ceilings of woodwork comprising small polychrome ceramic tiles – each one with a bunch of black grapes and two ears of wheat surrounded by the inscription “To the lady of Clementigney” – Testify with the elegance of the sets of the time. An anecdote reports that an American passage, seduced by the refinement of this play, wanted to buy all the transportable elements, for two million francs [ 20 ] .

A passage from the Bregille newspaper, from April 1982, described precisely the Jewish castle, taking up the testimony of the daily life of Léonie Allegri in his home. Thus, we learn a multitude of details, such as the existence of a stairs in oak, the fact that the corridors with the rich paneling hid secret cupboards, or the description of her room: she contained a bed with a baldaquin supported by Twisted columns, walls with red paneling and royal blue, and a sky blue ceiling lined with stars. We also learn that a large sculpted fireplace was present, covered with blue and white earthenware, and that the cabinets with transparent white stained glass were located in the scalable. As for the bathroom, located on the third floor, it was necessary, to use it, to mount the water bucket after bucket and heat it using a copper water heater, operating with a serpentine sending the liquid In a bathtub also in copper, not with a flow system. Faises, taking up the patterns of the wall of the reception room, enthroned in the building, offered by an Italian painter. Once remarried, Léonie Allegri was faced with the infidelities of her husband, the Count of Turenne, whose rumor reports that he facilitated the flight of his mistresses by the staircase of the tower, then renamed Happy , as well as by secret doors hidden in the paneling. He also put his weapons on the gates of the castle, and had his portrait and Léonie sculpt on the chimney of his wife’s room. The vines, still very lively just before the Great War, disappeared with the death of their owner, Léonie, in 1914 [ 2 ] .

Notes [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

References [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

  1. ↑ A B and C Bregille Memoirs , page 86.
  2. ↑ A B C and D Journal the Bregille , April 1982.
  3. ↑ A b c d e f g h i j k and l ‘ The Jewish Castle » , on Chaleize.fr , (consulted the )
  4. ↑ A B C D and E Bregille Memoirs , page 87.
  5. ↑ Pierre Falga, ‘ Where do Bisontins come from? » , on L’Express , (consulted the )
  6. ↑ Éliane Maingot, “Time measurement, watches and clocks”, in Mirror of history , 1970, pages 65-79.
  7. ↑ Judgment of the auctions of the Seine of August 19, 1883: auction on Mrs. Reine-Créieuse Léonie Allegri, widow in the first marriage of M. Bernheim (Accessed March 13, 2010).
  8. ↑ a et b Frederic Beziatuud , ‘ francegenweb.org – Migranet » , on www.franceenweb.org (consulted the )
  9. ↑ A B and C Directory of the nobility of France and the sovereign houses of Europe , vol.  21, Champion, ( read online ) , p. 295
  10. ↑ a et b Jean Chouine, Jews in the land of France: two thousand years of history through 600 postcards , Bibliophane, 1987, 239 pages, page 56 (ISBN  2869700059 ) .
  11. ↑ Bregille Memoirs , page 87 & 88.
  12. ↑ Son of Pierre – Joseph, count of Turenne, senior cavalry officer, and Marie – Alexandrine – Augustine – Elisabeth de Fariaux, Viscounte de Maulde.
  13. ↑ Archive heraldicum , vol. 100 to 101, ( read online ) , p. 19
  14. ↑ ‘ Turenne, Charles Déodat Raymond de. » , on FranceArchives (consulted the )
  15. ↑ The Archives of France services indicate that after 1870 (?): “Sale of properties by the Lippmann heirs to precious Queen Léonie Allegri Veuve Bernheim (November 13, 1858)”. Read on line
  16. ↑ A B and C Bregille Memoirs , page 88.
  17. ↑ Directory of the nobility of France and the sovereign houses of Europe , vol. 21, Office of publication, ( read online ) , p. 290
  18. ↑ In his will, Hermine notably makes jewelry, watches and portraits at the Louvre museum. Read on line , on the National Museum Archives or on the Louvre collection .
  19. ↑ a et b Bregille Memoirs , page 90.
  20. ↑ A B C D and E Bregille Memoirs , page 91.
  21. ↑ a et b Notice n O  PA25000029 , Base Mérimée, French Ministry of Culture .

Bibliography [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Document utilisé pour la rédaction de l’article: sources used significantly for writing this article

(fr) Hector Tonon, Jean-François Culot, Marie-Édith Hénckel, Annie Mathieu, Jacques Mathieu, Georges Bidalot, Jacqueline Bévalot, Paul Broquet, Jean-Claude Monti, Anne Porro, Jacques Breton, Jean-Claude Grappin, Pierre-Louis Bréchat, Yves Yves Mercier and Pierre Riobé, Bregille Memoirs (2nd edition) , Besançon, Cêtre, , 311 p. (ISBN  978-2-87823-196-0 ) Document utilisé pour la rédaction de l’article

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The version of October 22, 2011 of this article was recognized as ” good article », That is to say that it meets quality criteria concerning style, clarity, relevance, quotation of sources and illustration.

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