page_title: Château de Meudon
section_title: Queen's parents: the visit of Stanislas Leszczyński (1736-1737)
hierarchical_section_title: Château de Meudon / History / 18th century / Queen's parents: the visit of Stanislas Leszczyński (1736-1737)
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Minerve dit Alexandre Mazarin - MR 1633 Ma 3385 - Louvre
context_page_description: Meudon Castle, also known as the Royal Castle of Meudon or Imperial Palace of Meudon, is a French castle located in Meudon in the Hauts-de-Seine department. At the edge of a wooded plateau, the castle offers views of Paris and the Seine river, as well as of the valley of Chalais. Located between Paris and Versailles, in the heart of a hunting reserve, the castle has an ideal topography for large gardens. It had many successive owners from the Renaissance until the fall of the Second French Empire. It should not be confused with the Bellevue Castle, also located in Meudon.
  Famous past residents include: Anne de Pisseleu d'Heilly, Duchess of Étampes; the Cardinal of Lorraine, Abel Servien; François Michel Le Tellier Marquis de Louvois, and Louis, Grand Dauphin, also known as Monseigneur, who linked the Chaville Castle to Meudon Castle. The Château-Vieux burned down in 1795 and was rebuilt as the Château-Neuf, which in turn burned down in 1871. Demolition was considered, but most of the castle was preserved and became an observatory with an astronomical telescope in 1878, it was then attached to the Observatory of Paris in 1927.
context_section_description: On 4 June 1736, Stanislas Leszczyński, after abdicating in April, temporarily settled in Meudon. "SM goes there at least once a week since the king and queen of Poland live there." (Duke of Luynes).
  On September 30, 1736, King Stanislas secretly signed the Declaration of Meudon under pressure from Louis XV and the Cardinal Fleury. According to the terms of the agreement, possession of the Duchy of Bar would be "current" for the former Polish king and "possible" for Louis XV.
  On January 18, 1737, Leszczyński handed the seals to the new Chancellor, who swore an oath to the King of Poland. The ceremony took place in the large vestibule of the Château Vieux, on the ground floor of the central pavilion. The painting by François-André Vincent of this ceremony, is from much later, since it dates only from 1778.
  On March 31, 1737, "the king went today to Meudon bid farewell to the king and queen of Poland. (Duke of Luynes). They left Meudon the next day, April 1st. The two castles were then stripped of their furnishings.
  In the summer of 1743, facing the threat of Charles Alexander, Queen Catherine  of Poland, wife of Stanislas and mother of the French queen, took refuge in Meudon. Stanislas took refuge in Metz.
  The Knight of Fréjus visited Meudon on May 5, 1748. He left the following description:
  " On the 5th of May 1748, the first Sunday of the month, I went to Meudon by galiot.  We went up to Sèvres and from Sèvres we went upriver to the Capuchin monastery at Meudon, where we heard mass. The church there is not unusual, but their garden is very beautiful. From there we ascended the terrace of Meudon to the château, which is situated on a mountain from which all of Paris and the surrounding villages can be viewed. All the hills around Meudon are planted in vineyards and well maintained. The castle is superb. I noticed on the large door the arms of Louvois, and below the image of Louis XIV in metal. A gallery reigns in beauty outside the windows of this castle, as well as a facade on the side of the garden, charming. The Swiss then took me to the apartments, which are very beautiful, though less extensive than those of the Palace of Versailles. I saw two chambers lined in Gobelins tapestry of admirable beauty.
  Most rooms are covered in mirrors. The gallery leading to the chapel is superb. I saw there a very fine picture of the siege of Mannheim under Louis XIV, and a bust of Alexander of porphyry which is inestimable. Another, of Aristotle in Egyptian marble, is seen as a masterpiece. The chapel of the castle is very agreeable, with a single nave. There is only one altar, whose painting represents the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, but it is one of the most beautiful pictures that can be seen, and is said to be of Raphael by Antoine Coypel.  From the castle we were led to see the new apartment [the Château-Neuf]  It is very lovely and very agreeable, but less handsome than the first. From the castles to the village which is at the foot of the mountain, one sees only parterres and gardens of a charming cleanliness and arrangement. We saw the orangeries, the greenhouses. They are far from being as beautiful as those of Versailles. From there we ascended by a superb staircase to the top of the mountain, where you find the most beautiful alleys of trees, with beautiful pools of water. Going through the woods on the side of Sèvres, you find a basin of prodigious expanse, at the top of the mountain, beside a green meadow with a very gracious view. The alleys and gardens of Meudon have no beautiful statues as at the park at Versailles. The castles themselves do not approach the richness of that of Versailles but the location of Meudon...provides a beautiful view...The stables there are not beautiful. After seeing all that there was to see, we were dined at Meudon in the village... For dinner for three, including me, I paid three livres... [I] have not eaten elsewhere pigeons so fat (...)
caption: 17th century Italian statue, of the Athena Giustiniani type, known as '"Alexandre Mazarin". Musée du Louvre. Displayed in 18th century in the Salon du Petit Pont, at one end of the gallery
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