Known places: Chateau De Pierrefonds, France, desktop wallpaper nr. 19445

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Chateau De Pierrefonds, France

Tags: france (99 pics)

Ch�teau de Pierrefonds

The Ch�teau de Pierrefonds castle situated in the commune of Pierrefonds in the Oise d�partement of France. It is on the southeast edge of the Forest of Compi�gne, north of Paris, between Villers-Cotter�ts and Compi�gne.

The Ch�teau de Pierrefonds includes most of the characteristics of defensive military architecture from the Middle Ages, though it underwent a major restoration in the 19th century.

History

In the 12th century, a castle was built on this site. Three centuries later, in 1392 (620 years ago), the king Charles VI turned the county of Valois (of which Pierrefonds was part) into a Duchy and gave it to his brother Louis, Duke of Orl�ans. From 1393 (619 years ago) to his death in 1407 (605 years ago), the latter had the castle rebuilt by the court architect, Jean le Noir.

In Mar. 1617 (395 years ago), during the early troubled days of Louis XIII's reign, the castle, then the property of Fran�ois-Annibal d'Estr�es (brother of the beauty Gabrielle d'Estr�e), who joined the "parti des m�contents" (party of malcontents) lead by Henri II, Prince of Cond�, was besieged and taken by troops sent by Richelieu, the secretary of state for war. Its demolition was started, but not carried through to the end because of the enormity of the task. The exterior works were razed, the roofs destroyed and holes made in the towers and curtain walls.

The castle remained a ruin for more than two centuries. Napoleon I bought it in 1810 (202 years ago) for less than 3,000 francs. During the 19th century, with the rediscovery of the architectural heritage of the Middle Ages, it became a "romantic ruin": in Aug. 1832 (180 years ago), Louis-Philippe gave a banquet there on the occasion of the marriage of his daughter Louise to L�opold de Saxe-Cobourg Gotha, first king of Belgium. Among other artists, Corot depicted the ruins in several works between 1834 (178 years ago) and 1866 (146 years ago). The castle has been classified as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture since 1848 (164 years ago).

Louis-Napol�on Bonaparte (later Napoleon III of France) visited the castle in 1850 (162 years ago). As emperor, he asked Viollet-le-Duc in 1857 (155 years ago) to undertake its restoration. There was no question of a simple repair to the habitable parts (the keep and annexes): the "picturesque" ruins in front were to be kept for decor. In 1861 (151 years ago), the project grew in scale: the sovereign wanted to create an imperial residence, so the castle was to be entirely rebuilt. The works, which would cost 5 million francs, of which 4 million were to come from the civil list, were stopped in 1885 (127 years ago), six years after the death of Viollet-le-Duc. The departure of Napol�on III had halted the reconstruction and, through lack of money, the decoration of rooms was unfinished. Inside, Viollet-le-Duc produced more a work of invention than restoration (polychrome paintings). He imagined how the castle ought to have been, rather than basing his work on the strict history of the building. On the other hand, with the exterior he showed an excellent knowledge of the military architecture of the 14th century.

The Ch�teau de Pierrefonds is classified as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture.