Discovering Louis-Philippe's Castle in Eu

It's a place very frequented by the inhabitants, because it is neither more nor less than the town hall. However, very few people know the history of Château 2, whose glorious hours date back to the 19th century, at the time when it belonged to the king Louis-Philippe. It is his summer residence during the entire period during which he is king, between 1830 and 1848. It is a residence that has the title of royal residence. Despite everything, Louis-Philippe wants Château 2 to remain a family and friendly residence. The building was designed in the 1500s. Louis-Philippe enlarges it, two floors are added. The exterior will no longer evolve, but inside, styles from different eras coexist. In the castle, all the decoration has known two eras. Indeed, the first era concerns the presence of Louis-Philippe in the castle. The parquets that are there will be made at the time of Louis-Philippe for Louis-Philippe by an Englishman called George Packham. And then, in a second time, from the 1870s, Louis-Philippe's grandson, who bears the title of Count of Paris, becomes the owner of the castle and asks the architect who will supervise all the decoration and modernization of the building, this decoration that can be found on the walls, which is made of tapestry, of flamand, of houttuynia, dating from the 18th century. This room, the gallery of the guises, is the most sumptuous of the castle. In 1902, it was ravaged by a fire. To reconstruct it identically, about thirty years ago, the municipality bought a Scottish collector, 145 paintings, which belonged to Louis-Philippe, for auction. The construction took place in two phases. First, in the early 2000s, the ceiling and chandeliers were restored. And in 2012-2013, the lambries and parquet were restored, always relying on old documents, old photos, engravings, paintings, to recreate the decor as it was at the time of Louis-Philippe. Another essential element of this castle, this stained-glass window, designed by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, was the architect's last drawing before his death in 1879.