L'orangerie Des Princes De Condé À Chantilly Une Nef Et Un Parterre Princiers, 1682-1799

How could one suspect, when visiting the Chantilly estate today, that one of the largest orangeries in 17th and 18th century France, built by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, and its lush and enchanting parterre, designed by André Le Nôtre, were pleasing to visitors' heightened senses? This building, born in 1683 from the will of the illustrious Grand Condé and his son, Henri-Jules, was for more than a century, and until its demolition in 1799, an insolent exotic intrusion in Picardy.

The present work, on a totally new subject, is based on the recent study of archives as well as on the analysis of known plans and iconography. It restores both the existence and the functioning of a prestigious place, in the image of the Princes of Condé, and the treasures of knowledge deployed in Chantilly to cultivate orange trees and other delicate shrubs.