Bernard-René Jourdan de Launay Bernard-René Jourdan de Launay Bernard René Jourdan, marquis de Launay (1740–1789) was the French governor of the Bastille, the son of a previous governor, and commander of its garrison when the prison-fortress in Paris was stormed on 14 July 1789 ("see Storming of the Bastille"). The marquis Bernard-René Jordan de Launay was born on the night of 8/9 April 1740 in the Bastille where his father, René Jourdan de Launay, was governor. At the age of eight he was appointed to an honorary position in the King's Musketeers ("mousquetaires du roi"). He subsequently entered the French Guards ("gardes-françaises"), a regiment
Chateau and Seigneurie de Launay Launay to something of its noble past. He extensively repaired and upgraded the interior and also undertook ambitious renovations of the west wing of the château. He began the process of reversing the damage done during and subsequent to the war, a project which continues to the present. In 1979 Cléach, having acquired the large Château de Lorresse sold Launay to Jacques Maes. Maes continued with improvements to the buildings and repurchased some of the former land holdings, bringing the current expanse to 38 acres. In 2000 Maes sold Launay with its expanded property to David and Marie-Laure MacKee (Baron