Nanteau-sur-Lunain
Nanteau-sur-Lunain is located about 12 kilometers east of Nemours.
In the feudal era, Nanteau belonged to a branch of the Nemours-Villebéon family. In the mid-13th century, Jean III de Nanteau acquired the title to Thors and served in the crusades, potentially dying of plague in Italy in 1271. After Jean’s death, the property passed through his descendants, eventually reaching the Bouville family. Later, under King Louis XIV, the Petit family took ownership, followed by the Lallemant de Betz family from 1722 until the French Revolution.
The Château of Nanteau-sur-Lunain
The site has seen three châteaux built over time: a medieval manor in the 13th century, a 17th-century château, and the current château, constructed in the early 20th century. Before the Revolution, the Lallemand de Betz family owned it, but it was sold as national property afterward. In 1913, industrialist Gustave Lesieur acquired it and, due to flood damage, replaced the 17th-century building with the present château, designed by architect Morice and landscape architect René-Edouart André.
In 1951, the estate was sold to the Centre d’Orientation Sociale, which provided care for concentration camp survivors and later became a rehabilitation center for work and traffic accident victims, run by Social Security and the Ministry of Labor. Extensive renovations transformed the château into a facility for this purpose, and since the 1970s, additional buildings were added, preserving the château and its scenic park. Only the 17th-century stables, now used as a rehabilitation workshop, and a small pavilion remain from the earlier château.