Allée des brouillards, its castle and the Casadesus family

The Allée des Brouillards, its castle and the Casadesus family of musicians.. An indissociable whole in this area of Montmartre Hill.

First, Square Casadesus as an extension of the Allée des Brouillards

Square Casadesus is a public street located in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, France. It begins at 10, allée des Brouillards and ends at 10, rue Simon-Dereure. It pays tribute to the Casadesus family.

The members of this family have distinguished themselves in the history of music in France. The founder was Luis Casadesus (Figueras, March 26, 1850 - Paris, June 19, 1919), a Catalan emigrant to France who dreamed of being a violinist. He was the son of the actress Francesca Casadesus, known as Ramadié, and the writer Paul de Kock. He had thirteen children, nine of whom reached adulthood and; eight of them were musicians. From generation to generation and up to the present day, the Casadesus family has deployed their talents mainly in music, as soloists, conductor, militiaman or composer, singers and actors.

In the 1920s, the castle was bought and renovated by the violinist Marius Casadesus. Five generations of Casadesus will then succeed one another. A part of the rue Simon-Dereure, previously an extension of the rue de l'Abreuvoir, was named "lace des Quatre-Frères-Casadesus" (Francis, Henri, Robert-Guillaume and Marcel) in 1973, before being renamed "Place Casadesus" in 1995.

The Château des Brouillards and 19th century artists

Besides the fact that according to the legend, the bishop Saint Denis would have taken his head in his hands to wash it at the fountain which was located on the plot that we see in the square Suzanne-Buisson. It was supposed to happen in the 3rd century. It is on this ground that the Château des Brouillards will be built later.

It is in 1772, that the history of the Château des Brouillards began.  Legrand-Ducamjean, a lawyer at the Parliament of Paris, bought this vast 7,000 m² plot of land at 13, rue des Brouillards, where there were vineyards, a farm and a mill called the "Moulin des Brouillards". Built a century earlier, it was in ruins after having been used as a grape press. He had the mill razed to the ground to build a folly in the style of the century with outbuildings. He sold it on the eve of the Revolution in 1789.

The name "des Brouillards" probably came from the water vapors caused by the nearby springs in contact with the fresh morning air, and from the two nearby watering holes.

In 1850, the outbuildings were demolished to make way for pavilions that were inhabited by the artists Théophile Alexandre Steinlen, Kees Van Dongen and Amedeo Modigliani. In 1889, Auguste Renoir and his favorite model Aline Charigot (1859-1915), whom he married on April 14, 1890, moved to n° 8 allée des Brouillards. But the entrance was through the gate at 13, rue Girardon.

Their second son, the future filmmaker Jean Renoir (1894-1979), was born there on September 15, 1894 and spent his early years there. He will keep the memory of the countryside, of the goats that came to graze the wild grass of the wild garden. The land was then a maquis where homeless Parisians, entertainers, counterfeiters, small-time crooks, and other bohemians and anarchists built shacks.

In 1878, on the site of the former dairy of the domain, Kirschbaum, a lamp manufacturer, opened the Feuillée de Montmartre ball, which had a certain success with the bourgeoisie and the artistic milieu, and which was frequented by a few celebrities such as Victor Hugo, Léon Gambetta and Joris-Karl Huysmans. The establishment became the "Petit Moulin-Rouge", and then was sold in 1886.

The revival of the Chateau des Brouillards

In ruins in 1920, the estate was bought by Victor Perrot (1865-1963). He obtained the modification of the avenue Junot's layout to save the domain.

The allée des Brouillards has served this site since 1929, but the entrance is currently located at 13, rue Girardon. Perrot led the restoration of the château from 1922 to 1926 and also had electricity installed. Following financial difficulties, he had to divide the property. He sold half of the estate in 1928 to General Barthélémy Joseph Alexandre Piraud (1880-1958), while he kept the part under No. 13. A little later, the Château was sold to Marius Casadesus and his family.

On April 24, 2001, the property for sale was estimated at 11 million francs but did not find a buyer. In 2002, a Belgian industrialist of luxury jeans bought the part of the castle, made important works and sold it in 2012 for the sum of 7 750 000 euros. It is again for sale in 2022 at an unspecified price but over 10 million euros.

"Brouillards" (Mists) already used here in the 12th century

The name "des Brouillards" is already used to name the farm and the mill built in the 12th century. The Allée des Brouillards serves the existing Château des Brouillards. Like its neo-classical pediment, it dates from the 18th century and like the castle and the mill that preceded it, it owes its name to the water vapors that emanated from the surrounding springs.

The alley and the chateau des Brouillards entered literature thanks to Gérard de Nerval, who was in Montmartre from March to November 1841 at the psychiatric clinic of Doctor Blanche (1796-1852). He wrote a few lines about the castle, which he described in these terms: "Admirable place of retreat, silent in its hours."

In the 20th century, the alley still welcomes other artists, including, at No. 4, the actor Jean-Pierre Aumont. This bucolic place witnessed the Montmartre of yesteryear spared from the mass tourism that invaded the Montmartre district. Other artists have been inspired by l4Allée des Brouillards:

• in 1983, Claude Nougaro, who lived not far away, dedicated a song to it, covered in 2014 by Maurane, for which he wrote the lyrics to music by Richard Galliano
• in 1994, Martine Robier published 9, allée des Brouillards with Flammarion
• in 2000, Christine Haydar published Rendez-vous allée des Brouillards with Jean-Claude Lattès

The Allée des Brouillards starts at 4 Place Casadesus and ends at Place Dalida.