Voltaire's Château

The last 20 years of Voltaire's life were spent in Ferney. The castle was completely rebuilt. He laid out the park, not reluctant to work the land with his own hands. From Ferney, Voltaire continued his fight against intolerance and wrote some 6,000 letters, the Dictionnaire Philosophique, des tragédies… As well as giving theatrical performances at the castle, he also received many visitors. His guests came from all over the Europe of the Enlightenment. To visit Voltaire's castle is to come and meet the playwright, the committed philosopher, with a lively and generous spirit, provocative and tolerant, with a humour that is sometimes fierce. The collection of Voltaire's works and objects is displayed in a setting that keeps the traces of his presence. In the park, take a diversion under the bower where Voltaire loved to stroll with his guests.
When Voltaire, aged 65, acquired the lordship of Ferney in 1758, he described himself as having found a “miserable hamlet” where he had the house of his last years built, following the construction site closely. There Voltaire received many personalities for almost twenty years. As he declared himself the “innkeeper of Europe”, then Ferney became the place to be for an elite who came from all over Europe. Of this remote retreat, he became an outspoken critic of the injustice of society and defended the victims of political and religious intolerance. He carried on working actively on his literary work and published, among others, the Philosophical Dictionary, the Treaty on Tolerance, several tragedies and plays. The number of letters he wrote from Ferney reached some 6,000… Invested with the philosophical principles that nourished the spirit of the Age of Enlightenment, alternately town planner, entrepreneur and patron, he transformed the lordship of Ferney: drained marshes, construction of houses, cobbling of the streets, public fountain, construction of a new church, craftsmanship development… When Voltaire wanted to see Paris again and died there in 1778, the hamlet of a few inhabitants turned into a prosperous city of a thousand souls for a long time.