Following our meeting with the author Augustin de Canchy, and reading his eponymous work, La Villa Montmorencythe cloistered world of this exclusive neighborhood was offered to us. Nestled in the village of Auteuil in the 16th arrondissement, what was one of the first closed residential areas, a true “gated community” of the 19th century, reveals a historical heritage of unsuspected richness, long forgotten to outsiders. Through the pages of this work, we enter a world apart, where confidentiality mixes with the history of a Paris of yesteryear. But beneath its appearance of a peaceful retreat, Villa Montmorency hides many secrets, stories and legacies which, even today, seem to whisper in the ears of the lucky people who reside there.
Entrance to Villa Montmorency. The mirror kiosk, visible from the gate. Early 20th century postcard.
Public Domain. Taken from/ La Villa Montmorency, Augustin de Canchy, Editions Odyssée, 2024.
-A story anchored in time
The Countess of Boufflers bought the lands and the castle of these places after the death of her lover, the Prince of Conti. It was there that she organized one of the most popular trade fairs of the time and brought life to the village of Auteuil. Among the regular guests, we count Beaumarchais, Rousseau, Rameau, and Marie-Antoinette who apparently met her lover Count Axel de Fersen in the kiosk of Madame de Boufflers, located in the English garden of the property. A game from the time consisted of finding yourself in a gazebo filled with candles and mirrors to make yourself feel like you were at the center of the world. Thanks to Augustin de Canchy's investigation, we know today that this small kiosk still exists and continues in one of the Villa's properties. This object of unexploited historical wealth goes unnoticed in the decor of this enclave. We can imagine all the personalities who gathered there, away from prying eyes. Was the center of the world precisely, for a few fleeting moments, in this modest kiosk?
It was Madame de Montmorency who bought the property at the beginning of the 19th century, when the castle was dilapidated and almost abandoned, an inevitable repercussion of the Revolution. The Montmorencys lived there for several generations. In 1840, the Thiers enclosure, a fortification which encompasses the capital, passed through the Montmorency lands and cut off the park's access to the Bois de Boulogne. The estate being less pleasant with this wall, the heirs then ended up selling the castle and its lands to the Pereire brothers who built this enclave, located close to the Auteuil station served by their railway line going around Paris . The idea is to build a housing estate, close to Paris, which offers vacation homes to escape the capital. Théodore Charpentier is the architect who undertook the construction of the first villas, “dwellings for artists” were even built there. In 1853, Villa Montmorency opened its doors.
