X-Nico

4 unusual facts about Château de Malmaison


Angophora floribunda

It was growing from seed in Empress Josephine's arboretum at Malmaison by 1804, when Étienne Pierre Ventenat catalogued it in his Jardin de la Malmaison.

Disocactus phyllanthoides

Some authors state that this plant first flowered in the garden of Château de Malmaison, belonging to the late Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais.

Pavillon du Butard

On 23 April 1802 it became the property of empress Joséphine de Beauharnais, who wished to merge it with her Malmaison estate, but it returned to being state property on her divorce from Napoleon in 1809.

Séré de Rivières system

Tests against the fort at Malmaison indicated that forts built previously had been made obsolete.


Charles Percier

They also worked at Josephine's Château de Malmaison, at the Château de Montgobert for Pauline Bonaparte, and did alterations and decorations for former Bourbon palaces or castles at Compiègne, Saint-Cloud, and Fontainebleau.

Eccles Building

In particular, an antique chandelier from the Chateau Malmaison, the retreat for Napoleon and Josephine, and owned by the Caldwell firm, was replicated for the Board members' offices.

Empire style

The Empire period was popularized by the inventive designs of Percier and Fontaine, Napoleon's architects for Malmaison.


see also