Subsidiary Structures of The Palace of Versailles - Pavillon de La Lanterne

Pavillon De La Lanterne

The Lanterne is the name given to a hunting lodge located at Versailles near the Ménagerie. As a vacation retreat for prime ministers during the Vth Republic—effectively forming a pendant to the Grand Trianon, which has been until recent years the vacation residence for the French president. Since 2007, La Lanterene has also served as a retreat for the French president, on the grounds of its seclusion and its relative anonymity, thus providing a level of security that is difficult to maintain at the Grand Trianon due to the hoards of tourists visiting the building and gardens.

Building
The estate is adjacent to the Park of Versailles and situated on the road that links Versailles with Saint-Cyr-l'École. The estate includes a central two-story U-shaped building with a central section measuring 20 meters long by 6 meters wide. The central section is flanked by two parallel wings—of a later date and lower than the central section—which frame a gravel courtyard. A tree-lined lane links the courtyard with the Saint-Cyr road. The estate also includes a swimming pool, a tennis court, and five guest rooms.

History
The Pavillon de la Lanterne, located on the border of the Ménagerie, was built in 1787 by Philippe Louis Marc Antoine de Noailles, prince de Poix, who was the captain of the hunt and governor of Versailles, and was offered to his father, the comte de Noailles, by Louis XV. Then it included a ground floor as well as an attic floor. The façades were ornamented with seven stucco decorated spans—six windows and one central door, which was surmounted by a pediment. Owing to the lack of archival information, the architect of this building is unknown.

Between 1785-1786, the 36 herms of the grille that separated the courtyard—and especially the two herms surmounted by deer heads—were restored. As with other buildings at Versailles, La Lanterne was given up during the Revolution. In 1818, Louis XVIII repurchased the estate. Between 1942-1943 the deer-headed herms of the entry grill were restored; and in 1994, a full restoration of the pavilion was executed.

State Residence
In 1959, President Charles de Gaulle designated the former hunting lodge reserved for the use of serving prime ministers. However, André Malraux, then Minister of Culture stayed there between 1962 and 1969 after his apartment in Boulogne-Billancourt was destroyed by an assassination attempt by the Organisation de l'armée secrète. Most of the pavillon's decoration, which was decided by Louise Levêque de Vilmorin (4 April 1902-26 December 1969), former fiancée of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and later companion of André Malraux, dates from this period. Michel Rocard, prime minister 1988-1991, ordered renovations and the construction of the swimming pool and the tennis court.

In 2007, shortly after his election as president, Nicolas Sarkozy spent his first week-end there (12–13 May) as president-elect. Officially, Sarkozy was invited by the prime minister, who, at the time, was Dominique de Villepin, thus making the Pavillon de la Lanterne an official residence of the president of the French Republic