Near the residence, the town of Richelieu, model of 17th century urbanisation, will fascinate you with its architecture and its enormous, perfectly preserved park.
The Plessis family came to Richelieu in the fifteenth century. At the time the area was of small importance. Cardinal Richelieu, born Armand Jean du Plessis, in 1585 passed his childhood there. After becoming prime minister to Louis XIII, he asked the royal architect Jacques Lemercier, to construct a vast chateau and a city wall on his land, which had increased considerably in size by then.
The cardinal died in 1642 just before the work was finished and he never got to enjoy the splendour or the magnificent works of art his castle came to contain.
Of the original castle built by Lemercier only the dome, the orangery, the cellars and the entry hemicycle with its pavillions remain. A rosary occupies the site of the original body of the building.
>> Download a map of the town and park
>> Virtual visit of the chateau in 3D
