Maison des Jardies, Memorial house in Sèvres, France
Maison des Jardies is a residential house in Sèvres with traditional architecture, sitting on a hillside above the town. The interior spaces contain furniture and objects that visitors can walk through, while a garden surrounds the building.
Built at the end of the 17th century as a winegrowers' house, it became a country house in the 18th century. Honoré de Balzac stayed there from 1837, built a chalet in the garden, and left in 1840 pursued by creditors. In 1878 Léon Gambetta bought it from Madame Aimé Fagniez; he died there on 31 December 1882, aged 44.
The house keeps the decor of its period and holds furniture and objects that belonged to Balzac and to Gambetta, among them copies of La République française, the newspaper Gambetta founded in 1871. The name Jardies is the local term for the plots of vines once worked here.
Visiting works best with a guided tour through the interior to understand the story and arrangement of objects. The grounds are hilly, so wear good shoes and allow enough time for the walk.
The statue of Gambetta in the garden is by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty; it was erected in 1891 and has been a classified monument historique since 10 July 1995. The house and its garden were inscribed as monuments historiques on 3 June 1991.
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