Château de la Guette, Villeneuve-Saint-Denis, Seine-et-Marne, France
The Château de la Guette is a former hunting lodge built around 1900 in the countryside of Seine et Marne, 40 km from Paris.
The Château dates to the twelfth century. In 1307, it became the property of Dreux la Guette, valet de chambre to King Philippe le Bel. In the sixteenth century, it was owned by Jean de la Guette, and then Jean Davy, brother of Cardinal du Perron. In the nineteenth century, the estate was owned by the Count de Senele, before being acquired by the Rothschild family.
The Rothschild family then purchased the property. During the German occupation, Germaine de Rothschild offered La Guette as a refuge for Jewish children, many of them orphans. In 1939, 130 German and Austrian children, arrived at the Château.
In 1982, a new residential facility for elderly people with a capacity of 120 beds spread over four floors and approved for social welfare was built by the Fondation de Rothschild, and today the property is administered as a residential centre for the care of the elderly.
In 1999, a plaque was placed in the entrance to honour the Château's history:
Return to Estates listingMars 1939
Cent trente enfants juifs d’Allemagne et d’Autriche trouvent ici un refuge grâce à une association présidée par Germaine de ROTHSCHILD Pour commémorer le soixantième anniversaire de cet évènement, des anciens, venus de plusieurs continents, ont apposé cette plaque du souvenir.
Mai 1999
