A little history of Denainvilliers castle

A few kilometres away from Pithiviers, in the middle of nowhere, here's the light façade of Denainvilliers.

Well, it's a Louis XIII period castle (17th century)! This is an architectural trend which was inspired by Renaissance, but it also prefigured classicism, with those simple lines...

And Denainvilliers is sober and elegant, with this wooded alley leading to the castle, the windmill, and indoors with old panelling.

In the 12th century, the seigneury belonged to Gervais III d'Escrennes, then fell to the Pocaire, a famous family here in Gâtinais, who lived in the 14th century.

You know what? One of them, Jean Pocaire, brought saffron from the Holy Land and introduced its growing in the region!

Then the castle fell to Duhamel family: a member rebuilt the current castle in 1630.

Oh, I forgot: this castle is famous because Alexandre Duhamel lived here in the 18th century with his brother Henri Duhamel du Monceau, a famous scientist, botanist and agronomist!