At the end of the XVIII^th century, a fashion grew up in France

Anglo-Chinese gardens melt with the greatest care trees, lawns and buildings in Chinese but also Oriental or Greco-Roman style (temples, altars, pavilions ...).

The French "parcs à fabriques" used a lot of small ornamental buildings called fabriques, set up in the park with a philosophical device. Some of them also had a function : icehouses, settlements, sheep-folders, diaries ... A lot of them were built to look like ruins. They were coordinated with rare trees, meadows, greenhouses, rocks and ponds. The whole was designed to improve feelings, manage surprises and create paths.

Born in England, Anglo-Chinese gardens were accepted in Sweden and Germany. The style rose latter in France. But he climaterized there from 1775 to 1790. Then it was sunk by the Révolution.

A lot of parks in the Paris area, of which the most wonderful.

Méréville, the Désert de Retz and Ermenonville were on the pinnacle. Each of them had been the great affair of its owner's life.

More or less, all three decayed, but the remainders still allow an overwhelming tour, giving us a touch of this era.

Pages created by : Dominique Césari, opened 10-30-99
(contributions quoted in the table of contents)
Last update : June the 18^th, 2002