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TheChâteau de Braine was achâteau inBraine, Aisne,Picardy,France. It served as a country home for the counts ofEgmont-Pignatteli, and its gardens were designed byAndré Le Nôtre.
The first counts of Braine belonged to theHouse of Dreux, acadet branch of theCapetian dynasty. Next to thePremonstratensian abbey ofSaint-Yved de Braine, they constructed a medieval manor, the first château. Through inheritance the title and the manor passed to the house of Pierrepont, the counts ofSaarbrücken, and the Housede La Marck. In 1587, the medieval manor suffered a fire due to thereligious wars. The house was replaced by a new 16th-century dwelling.
In the 17th century, ownership further changed by inheritance from family to family: to the Eschallart de la Boulaie and theDurforts. Around 1700, André Le Nôtre was engaged to design and lay-out the gardens.
In 1717, Henriëtte Julie de Durfot, countess of Braine, married count Procope Egmont-Pignatelli, prince ofGavere, scion of two illustrious house: theEgmond or Egmont andPignatelli. The marriage changed the focus of the Egmont family from theAustrian Netherlands toFrance. They sold theEgmont Palace inBrussels toLéopold Philippe, 4th Duke of Arenberg, while the castles inLahamaide andZottegem fell into disrepair. The new centre of attention is now the hôtel d’Egmont at the Rue Louis-le-Grand 21 in Paris and the château in Braine, as the primary country home.
The château of Braine experiences its heyday under Procopo's son, count Casimir Egmont-Pignatelli, a lieutenant general in the French army and French ambassador to the king of Spain. Various plans were made to enlarge the château, but none are realized except a small pavilion housing a bathing apartment.[1] Casimir was married toJeanne Sophie du Plessis (also known as Septimanie), the daughter ofArmand du Pless,Duke of Richelieu. Septimanie d’Egmont was a knownsalonist, who was in contact withVoltaire,Rousseau, and the Swedish kingGustav III, and invited them over to the château de Braine. In May 1771, Rousseau had a recitation from his forthright autobiographical workConfessions for the Egmonts and a few select friends in Braine. They were moved according to his own memories.[2][3]
After theFrench Revolution, count Casimir emigrated to Germany in 1792, where he died inBrunswick in 1802. The estates of the Egmont-Pignatelli's in France and the Netherlands were confiscated. It was the start of the end of the château, whose furniture, panelling and decorative elements were sold. The west wing was ravaged by fire in 1798. And finally, the château was demolished in 1801.
After theBourbon restoration in 1815, the park and estates in Braine were restored to the heir of the Egmont-Pignatelli family, the dukeLuynes andChevreuse, a descendant of Henriette Nicole d'Egmont-Pignatelli. However, its heyday was over.
Today, the only remains are the entrance gate to the château, dating from the 18th century, and the 16th-century vaulted cellars of the main building. Also, one can recognize where once the gardens were along theVesle river. It is not possible to visit the site.
Other palaces and castle of the Egmond family: