Lycée "Le Castel" in Dijon
The direct ancestor of the Lycée "Le Castel" was a technical school for girls, located on the rue Condorcet in an 18th-century building (next door to the current Collège Marcelle-Pradé).
Founded in 1960, the girls’ school was itself the successor to a business college for young ladies, which opened in 1901.
The move to the Le Castel site began in October 1960.
"Le Castel" Pavilion
Originally, "Le Castel" was a pavilion situated in a large park. At the time, this pavilion was known as the "Castel Morin".
Marc-Antoine Chartraire de Montigny, a high-ranking nobleman in Dijon, treasurer of Burgundy under Louis XV, a highly esteemed figure at court and a very rich man (he was known as the “viceroy of Burgundy”), bought the pavilion in 1705 from Legouz Moine, who had had the pavilion built as a “house in the fields”: a “folie”, as was said at the time. The architect was Martin de Noinville.
In 1733, the property was enlarged with purchased land, and a park was created by deviating the Ouche River. Moreover, the elegant pavilion was enlarged to twice its original size. Lavish parties enhanced its prestige.
In 1750, Marc-Antoine Chartraire de Montigny, fearing that his fortune was lost, put an end to his own life. His son succeeded him, and the "folie” was sold in 1776.
In 1793, the owner Philippe Regneau founded a brewery on the site.
In 1830, the park was opened to the public.
In 1843, Alexandre Bonikausen, whose name would later be changed to Eiffel, became partners with the owner in the brewing business. Bonikausen is best known as the father of Gustave Eiffel, engineer and builder of the famous tower. Gustave Eiffel thus spent his youth at Le Castel.
Le Castel later became a military subdivision headquarters before falling into neglect.
In 1940, the Germans moved in, followed by the French Interior Forces, the Americans and war refugees. Many works of art disappeared during this time.
In 1945, the property was registered as a historical site. However, surrounded by large trees, it slowly deteriorated, as rain leaked through the damaged roof.
Between 1960 and 1962, a large secondary school (lycée) was built on the property, and it was only in 1971 that the pavilion’s roof was fully renovated.
Chartraire de Montigny’s house is still standing as witness to a long past, on the site of a modern secondary school that teaches general academic subjects as well as rapidly expanding professional and technological programs.
We hope that the house still has a long life in front of it.