Barbirey castle and its weird marquis de Brunoy who had gloomy thoughts
And also
The tops
You ungrateful son!
Barbirey is an old land dating back to the Middle Ages.
But its history really began with the famous banker Jean Paris de Monmartel, who owned Barbirey in the 18th century.
He was 75 years old: gossip said he was the richest man in France after king Louis XV!
A fortune made thanks to his relentless work… his only son, marquis de Brunoy, wasted this inheritance in few years only!
This one raised the current castle. Do you know the marquis was a pretty weird chap? Completely nuts?
A twisted guy!
A drink?
He was born Armand-Louis-Joseph Paris de Montmartel, but people called him marquis de Brunoy, from a land he owned near Paris.
He was always sloppy and filthy.
His pants had holes and his clothes were dirty.
He liked to drink a glass with his friends, and even with peasants working on his estates.
I love coffins
But he also had whims. Some weird things in his mind!
For instance, when a baptism took place on his lands, he turned up and became the kids’ godfather. So, we had plenty of Armande and Armand in the area!
He decided to re-decorate the church of Brunoy, and to pay all the religious celebrations.
Because the marquis was fond of religious stuffs.
Especially burials! He never missed a funeral and even carried the coffin!
Urine and black hens
In 1766, his dad died. The marquis transformed all the village of Brunoy.
He painted everything in black: the church, houses... he put black veils on trees, on statues…
″He threw black ink in ponds and in the river. Horses, cows and hens were painted in black. And the marquis even gave to his horses a mixture to blacken their urine...″
The visit
The nice gardens of Barbirey were landscaped in the 19th century.
Vegetables plot and orchard, ponds, meadows and little woods are waiting for you...