The Othenin d'Haussonville Foundation for the influence of the spirit of Coppet

The Château of Coppet is listed as a monument of national importance and has been owned for more than two centuries by the descendants of Jacques Necker, Minister of Finance to Louis XVI and of his daughter Madame de Staël. As leader of the opposition to Napoleon, Madame de Staël found herself exiled to the château on the Emperor’s orders.

A family home for nine generations, the château was opened to the public almost a century ago by its owners. In 2008 Count Haussonville, who had consecrated his lifetime to preserving the family legacy,  created the Othenin d’Haussonville Foundation to perpetuate the spirit of Coppet to which he ceded the usufruct of the château, the parklands and the family’s private collection. His mission ensures the chateau’s conservation, its accessibility to the public and its historical importance.

Following family tradition, the foundation ensures that the “spirit of Coppet” lives on. Coppet was indeed, at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, the centre of a new European spirit, a focal hub of the Romanticism movement and a renowned meeting point to discuss liberalism and the struggle for the abolition of slavery.
The Othenin d’Haussonville Foundation to perpetuate the spirit of Coppet works in close collaboration with the canton of Vaud, which supports the château’s conservation projects, and with the Commune of Coppet.

The Foundation benefits from the continuing passionate commitment of the Haussonville family as well as the support of dedicated experts working in the field of culture and the protection of local heritage.