History
article | Reading time5 min
The Maison des Jardies was home to two major figures in 19th-century French history: first the writer Honoré de Balzac, and then the politician Léon Gambetta.
The Great History of a Winegrower’s House
A refuge for great men
Built on the southern slope of the Saint-Cloud estate, the house was originally a simple winegrower’s dwelling. Its peaceful setting, ideally situated near Paris, attracted prominent figures in the 19th century who would leave their mark on the site.Balzac moved to a place called Les Jardiesin 1837, taking up residence in a large property that he intended to subdivide. He put his gardener, Pierre Brouette, up in the winegrower’s cottage. It was this cottage that Léon Gambetta bought in 1878 for the modest sum of 40,000 francs, including the furnishings. He intended to retire there from an exhausting parliamentary life, with his partner Léonie Léon, who had been by his side since 1872.
Hauts-de-Seine department – Museum of the Sceaux Departmental Estate, on loan to the Maison des Jardies © CMN
A modest building
Although extended during several building projects, the house remained modest: few, narrow rooms, low ceilings and little natural light. Only the drawing room, added to the building in themid-19th century—which was more spacious and better lit—was an exception to the rule.
The fact that Gambetta needed to have a gazebo (now lost) built below the house to house his library is telling: there was a lack of space in this small building, originally purchased to serve as a country house.
He did not enjoy this haven of peace for long, as, following an accidental gunshot wound, his health deteriorated rapidly.
Suffering from peritonitis, he died at Les Jardies on 31 December 1882, aged 44.
Colombe Clier – Centre des Monuments Nationaux
A place of remembrance
The house subsequently became a place of pilgrimage where politicians and Gambetta’s many admirers would gather to pay their respects.
In 1887, his family bequeathed Les Jardies to the French State so that it might preserve the memory of the most iconic of the founding fathers of the Third Republic.
Two years later, Benedetta Leris, Gambetta’s sister, donated a further plot of land to the State, situated behind the Maison des Jardies. The Comité des Alsaciens-Lorrains funded the construction of a monument there, commissioned from the sculptor Auguste Bartholdi.
The property was listed in the supplementary register of historic monuments in 1991 and has held the ‘Maison des Illustres’ designation since 2011. Check out the practical information to organise your next visit to the Maison des Jardies!
Hervé Lewandowski – Centre des Monuments Nationaux
The subject file
