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90-446: "Fontainebleau" took its name from the "Fontaine Belle-Eau", a natural fresh water spring located in the English garden not far from the château. The name means "Spring of beautiful water". In the 19th century the spring was rebuilt with an octagonal stone basin, as it appears today. The earliest reference to a royal residence at Fontainebleau dates to 1137 under King Louis VII the Younger , but it had probably been built earlier, during

180-630: A Neo-Renaissance style, while the Hall of Columns, under the ballroom, was remade in a neoclassical style. He added new stained glass windows, made by the Royal Manufactory of Sèvres . Emperor Napoleon III , who had been baptized at Fontainebleau, resumed the custom of long stays at Fontainebleau, particularly during the summer. Many of the historic rooms, such as the Gallery of Deer, were restored to something like their original appearance, while

270-514: A Turkish-style salon was created for her in 1777, a room for games in 1786–1787, and a boudoir in the arabesque style. Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette made their last visit to Fontainebleau in 1786, on the eve of the French Revolution . During the French Revolution the château was far from the turbulence of Paris, and did not suffer any significant damage, but all the furniture was later sold at auction. The buildings were occupied by

360-574: A claim for his family, he sent his chancellor, Thomas Becket , to press for a marriage between Margaret and Henry's heir, Henry the Young King . Louis agreed to this proposal, and by the Treaty of Gisors (1158) betrothed the young pair, giving as a dowry the Norman city of Gisors and the surrounding county of Vexin . Louis was devastated when Constance died in childbirth on 4 October 1160. As he

450-424: A fever and returned to the Île-de-France. In 1154, Louis married Constance of Castile , daughter of King Alfonso VII of Castile . She also failed to supply him with a son and heir, bearing only two daughters, Margaret and Alys . By 1157, Henry II of England began to believe that Louis might never produce a male heir, and that the succession of France would consequently be left in question. Determined to secure

540-664: A large parterre of flower beds, decorated with ancient statues and separated by paths into large squares. The fountain of Diana and the grotto were made by Tommaso Francini , who may also have designed the Medici Fountain in the Luxembourg Garden for Marie de' Medici . On the south side, Henry created a park, planted with pines, elms and fruit trees, and laid out a grand canal 1200 meters long, sixty years before Louis XIV built his own grand canal at Versailles . King Louis XIII , who had been born and baptized in

630-457: A loggia is also a small garden structure or house built on the roof of a residence, open on one or more sides, to enjoy cooling winds and the view. They were especially popular in the 17th century and are prominent in Rome and Bologna , Italy. The main difference between a loggia and a portico is the role within the functional layout of the building. The portico allows entrance to the inside from

720-543: A male heir to the throne of France. On 18 May 1152, Eleanor married the Count of Anjou, the future King Henry II of England. She gave him the duchy of Aquitaine and bore him three daughters and five sons. Louis led an ineffective war against Henry for having married without the authorisation of his suzerain . The result was a humiliation for the enemies of Henry and Eleanor, who saw their troops routed, their lands ravaged, and their property stolen. Louis reacted by coming down with

810-661: A monumental new building, the Porte Dorée or Golden Gate, in the Italian Renaissance style, as the main entry of the palace, On the north side he built another building with a Renaissance stairway, the Portique de Serlio, which gave access the royal apartments. Beginning in about 1528, Francis constructed the Galerie François I , which allowed him to pass directly from his apartments to the chapel of

900-619: A new brick and stone building, built in stages in 1738–1741 and 1773–74, extending west toward the Pavilion and grotto of the pines. Between 1750 and 1754, the King commissioned the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel , who had designed the Place de la Concorde and Petit Trianon to build a new wing along the Cour de la Fontaine and the carp pond. The old Pavilion des Poeles was demolished and replaced by

990-533: A result, he became well learned and exceptionally devout, but his life course changed decisively after the accidental death of his older brother Philip in 1131, when Louis unexpectedly became the heir to the throne of France. In October 1131, his father had him anointed and crowned by Pope Innocent II in Reims Cathedral . He spent much of his youth in Saint-Denis , where he built a friendship with

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1080-553: A richly coffered ceiling and dome. It was largely completed in 1546. The emblem of Henry II, the salamander, marks the keystones. In 1554, under Henry II, the architect Philibert de l'Orme built a new organ loft, supported by two tall marble columns. Stained glass windows made in Sèvres, designed by Louis' daughter Marie , an artist, were installed in the 19th century during the Louis Philippe period. The stairway of

1170-514: A room for celebrations and balls. The 'H', the initial of the King, is prominent in the decor, as well as figures of the crescent moon, the symbol of Henry's mistress Diane de Poitiers . In the 19th century King Louis Philippe added the elaborate wooden floor, which copies the original designs in the coffers of the ceiling. At the eastern end is a monumental fireplace, which flanked with two statues of Satyrs copied by Primaticcio from Roman originals. (The current statues are later copies). Above

1260-521: A series of heroic paintings for the salons. A new wing, named for its central building, La Belle Cheminée, was built next to the large fish pond. Henry IV also devoted great attention to the park and gardens around the chateau. The garden of the Queen or garden of Diana, created by Catherine de' Medici, with the fountain of Diane in the center, was located on the north side of the palace. Henry IV's gardener, Claude Mollet , trained at Château d'Anet , created

1350-471: A visit by the last survivor of its royal residents, the Empress Eugénie , on 26 June 1920. The façades the major buildings received their first protection by classification as historic monuments on 20 August 1913. In 1923, following World War I , it became home of the Écoles d'Art Américaines , schools of art and music, which still exist today. In 1927 it became a national museum. Between the wars

1440-486: Is one of the main characters in Elizabeth Chadwick 's novel The Summer Queen . Loggia In architecture , a loggia ( / ˈ l oʊ dʒ ( i ) ə / LOH -j(ee-)ə , usually UK : / ˈ l ɒ dʒ ( i ) ə / LOJ -(ee-)ə , Italian: [ˈlɔddʒa] ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor

1530-434: Is open to the elements because its outer wall is only partial, with the upper part usually supported by a series of columns or arches . An overhanging loggia may be supported by a baldresca . From the early Middle Ages , nearly every Italian comune had an open arched loggia in its main square, which served as a "symbol of communal justice and government and as a stage for civic ceremony". In Italian architecture ,

1620-566: The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor . He was also portrayed by Charles Kay in the 1978 BBC TV drama series The Devil's Crown . He has a role in Sharon Kay Penman 's novels When Christ and His Saints Slept and Devil's Brood . The early part of Norah Lofts ' biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine deals considerably with Louis, seen through Eleanor's eyes and giving her side in their problematic relationship. Louis

1710-711: The Second Crusade , Louis and his queen set out from the Basilica of Saint-Denis , first stopping in Metz on the overland route to Syria . Soon they arrived in the Kingdom of Hungary , where they were welcomed by the king Géza II of Hungary , who was already waiting with King Conrad III of Germany . Due to his good relationships with Louis, Géza II asked the French king to be his son Stephen 's godfather. Relations between

1800-640: The Tuileries Palace in 1804. The armchairs with a sphinx pattern, the consoles and screen and the two chests of drawers were placed in the room in 1806. Louis VII the Younger Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger or the Young (French: le Jeune ) to differentiate him from his father Louis VI , was king of France from 1137 to 1180. His first marriage

1890-414: The archbishopric of Bourges became vacant. The king supported the chancellor Cadurc as a candidate to fill the vacancy against the pope's nominee Pierre de la Chatre , swearing upon relics that so long as he lived, Pierre should never enter Bourges. The pope thus imposed an interdict upon the king. Louis then became involved in a war with Theobald II of Champagne by permitting Raoul I of Vermandois ,

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1980-511: The rocaille style of the day. The decoration of the fireplace dates to the same period. The doors have an arabesque design, and were made for Marie Antoinette , as were the sculpted panels over the doors, installed in 1787. The bed was also made specially for Marie Antoinette, but did not arrive until 1797, after the Revolution and her execution. As a result it escaped the sales of the château furnishings which took place immediately after

2070-464: The seneschal of France, to repudiate his wife, Theobald II's sister, and to marry Petronilla of Aquitaine , sister of the queen of France. As a result, Champagne decided to side with the pope in the dispute over Bourges. The war lasted two years (1142–44) and ended with the occupation of Champagne by the royal army. Louis was personally involved in the assault and burning of the town of Vitry-en-Perthois . At least 1,500 people who had sought refuge in

2160-467: The Angevin realms. His second marriage to Constance of Castile also produced two daughters, but his third wife, Adela of Champagne , gave birth to a son, Philip Augustus . Louis died in 1180 and was succeeded by his son, Philip II. Louis was born in 1120, the second son of Louis VI of France and Adelaide of Maurienne . The early education of the young Louis anticipated an ecclesiastical career. As

2250-488: The Aquitaine with which Eleanor was familiar. Louis and Eleanor had two daughters, Marie and Alix . In the first part of his reign, Louis was vigorous and zealous in the exercise of his prerogatives . His accession was marked by no disturbances other than uprisings by the burgesses of Orléans and Poitiers , who wished to organise communes . He soon came into violent conflict with Pope Innocent II , however, when

2340-483: The Belle Cheminée. King Louis XVI also made additions to the château to create more space for his courtiers. A new building was constructed alongside the Gallery of Francis I; it created a large new apartment on the first floor, and a number of small apartments on the ground floor, but also blocked the windows on the north side of the Gallery of Francis I. The apartments of Queen Marie Antoinette were redone,

2430-658: The Centaurs and the Lapithes . On the side of the gallery facing the windows, the frescoes represent: A Sacrifice ; The Royal Elephant ; The Burning of Catane ; The Nymph of Fontainebleau (painted in 1860–61 by J. Alaux to cover a former entry to the gallery); The Sinking of Ajax ; The Education of Achilles and The Frustration of Venus . The ballroom was originally begun as an open passageway, or loggia, by Francis I. In about 1552 King Henry II closed it with high windows and an ornate coffered ceiling, and transformed it into

2520-577: The Central School of the Department of Seine-et-Marne , until 1803, when Napoleon installed a military school there. He chose Fontainebleau as the site of his historic 1804 meeting with Pope Pius VII , who had travelled from Rome to crown Napoleon emperor . Apartments were refurnished and decorated for the Emperor and Empress in the new Empire style . The Cour du Cheval Blanc was renamed

2610-539: The Cour d'Honneur, or Courtyard of Honor. One wing facing the courtyard, the Aile de Ferrare, was torn down and replaced with an ornamental iron fence and gate, making the façade of the palace visible. The gardens of Diane and the gardens of the Pines were replanted and turned into an English landscape garden by the landscape designer Maximilien Joseph Hurtault . Napoleon's visits to Fontainebleau were not frequent, because he

2700-467: The French Court. The renovation projects of Louis XV were more ambitious than those of Louis XIV. To create more lodging for his enormous number of courtiers, in 1737–38 the King built a new courtyard, called the Cour de la Conciergerie or the Cour des Princes, to the east of the Gallery of Deer. On the Cour du Cheval Blanc, the wing of the Gallery of Ulysses was torn down and gradually replaced by

2790-642: The French throne and was crowned as his father's co-ruler. In 1137, he married Eleanor of Aquitaine and shortly thereafter became sole king following his father's death. During his march, as part of the Second Crusade in 1147, Louis stayed at the court of King Géza II of Hungary on the way to Jerusalem . During his stay in the Holy Land , disagreements with Eleanor led to a deterioration in their marriage. She persuaded him to stay in Antioch but Louis instead wanted to fulfil his vows of pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He

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2880-583: The French), joined later in the decoration of the gallery. Their elaborate mixture of painting and sculpture became known as the first School of Fontainebleau , which helped launch the French Renaissance . The emblem of Francis I, a salamander surrounded by flames, is found alongside each painting he commissioned in the Grand Gallery. In about 1540, Francis began another major addition to

2970-535: The Gallery of Deer, were built to enclose the old garden of Diana . He also added a large jeu de paume , or indoor tennis court, the largest such court existing in the world. A second School of Fontainebleau group of painters and decorators went to work on the interiors. The architect Martin Fréminet created the ornate chapel of the Trinity, while the painters Ambroise Dubois and Toussaint Dubreuil created

3060-533: The Gros Pavilion, built of cream-colored stone. Lavish new apartments were created inside this building for the King and the Queen. The new meeting room for the Royal Council was decorated by the leading painters of the day, including François Boucher , Charles-André van Loo , Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre and Alexis Peyrotte . A magnificent small theater was created on the first floor of the wing of

3150-599: The Horse and reputed lover, the Marchese Gian Rinaldo Monaldeschi  [ sv ] , of betraying her secrets to her enemies. Her servants chased him through the halls of the château and stabbed him to death. Louis XIV came to see her at the château, did not mention the murder, and allowed her to continue her travels. On May 19–20, 1717, during the Regency following the death of Louis XIV,

3240-501: The King was installed in 1748 and 1749, in the space occupied during the reign of Francis I by the bedroom of Anne de Pisseleu , the Duchess of Étampes, a favorite of the King. It was designed by the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel , who used many decorative elements from the earlier room, which had originally been decorated by Primaticcio. The upper portion of the walls is divided into panels, oval and rectangular, with scenes representing

3330-630: The Queen Mothers (Aile des Reines Mères) next to the Court of the Fountain, designed by Primatrice. King Louis XIV spent more days at Fontainebleau than any other monarch; he liked to hunt there every year at the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. He made few changes to the exterior of the château, but did build a new apartment for his companion Madame de Maintenon , furnished it with some major works of André-Charles Boulle and demolished

3420-482: The Queen. The ornate ceiling over the bed was made in 1644 by the furniture-maker Guillaume Noyers for the Dowager Queen Anne of Austria , the mother of Louis XIV, and bears her initials. The room was redecorated by Marie Leszczynska , the Queen of Louis XV in 1746–1747. The ceiling of the alcove, the decoration around the windows and the wood panelling were made by Jacques Vererckt and Antoine Magnonais in

3510-538: The Revolution. It was used instead by Napoleon's wives, the Empress Joséphine and Marie-Louise of Austria . The walls received their ornamental textile covering, with a design of flowers and birds, in 1805. It was restored in 1968–1986 using the original fabric as a model. The furniture in the room all dates to the First Empire . The balustrade around the bed was originally made for the throne room of

3600-657: The Russian Tsar Peter the Great was a guest at Fontainebleau. A hunt for stags was organized for him, and a banquet. Officially the visit was a great success, but in the memoirs published later by members of the delegation, it appears that Peter disliked the French style of hunting, and that he found the château too small, compared with the other royal French residences. The routine of Fontainebleau also did not suit his tastes; he preferred beer to wine (and brought his own supply with him) and he liked to get up early, unlike

3690-596: The Trinitarians. He brought the architect Sebastiano Serlio from Italy, and the Florentine painter Giovanni Battista di Jacopo, known as Rosso Fiorentino , to decorate the new gallery. Between 1533 and 1539 Rosso Fiorentino filled the gallery with murals glorifying the king, framed in stucco ornament in high relief, and lambris sculpted by the furniture maker Francesco Scibec da Carpi . Another Italian painter, Francesco Primaticcio from Bologna ("Primatice" to

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3780-496: The abbot Suger, an advisor to his father who also served Louis during his early years as king. Following the death of Duke William X of Aquitaine , Louis VI moved quickly to have his son married to Eleanor of Aquitaine (who had inherited William's territory) on 25 July 1137. In this way, Louis VI sought to add the large, sprawling territory of the duchy of Aquitaine to his family's holdings in France. On 1 August 1137, shortly after

3870-455: The archbishop, asking when Becket refused Henry's conciliations, "Do you wish to be more than a Saint?" Louis also tried to weaken Henry by supporting his rebellious sons, and encouraged Plantagenet disunity by making Henry's sons, rather than Henry himself, the feudal overlords of the Angevin territories in France. But the rivalry among Henry's sons and Louis's own indecisiveness broke up the coalition (1173–1174) between them. Finally, in 1177,

3960-691: The arrows, and to prevent himself from being captured he defended the crag with his bloody sword, cutting off many heads and hands. Louis and his army finally reached the Holy Land in 1148. His queen Eleanor supported her uncle, Raymond of Poitiers , and prevailed upon Louis to help Antioch against Aleppo. But Louis's interest lay in Jerusalem, and so he slipped out of Antioch in secret. He united with King Conrad III of Germany and King Baldwin III of Jerusalem to lay siege to Damascus ; this ended in disaster and

4050-473: The cause of Alexander III, who lived at Sens from 1163 to 1165. In return for his loyal support, the pope bestowed upon Louis the Golden Rose . More important for English history would be Louis's support for Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury , whom he tried to reconcile with Henry II. Louis sided with Becket as much to damage Henry as out of piety—yet even he grew irritated with the stubbornness of

4140-449: The church died in the flames. Condemned by the ecclesiastical authorities, Louis removed his armies from Champagne and returned them to Theobald. He accepted Pierre de la Chatre as archbishop of Bourges and shunned Raoul and Petronilla. Desiring to atone for his sins, he declared his intention of mounting a crusade on Christmas Day 1145 at Bourges. Bernard of Clairvaux assured its popularity by his preaching at Vezelay on Easter 1146. In

4230-530: The château took place between 1964 and 1968 under President Charles de Gaulle and his Minister of Culture, Andre Malraux . It was classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981. In 2006, the Ministry of Culture purchased the royal stables, and began their restoration. Beginning in 2007, restoration began of the theater of the château, created by Napoleon III during the Second Empire. The project

4320-459: The château, continued the works begun by his father. He completed the decoration of the chapel of the Trinity, and assigned the court architect Jean Androuet du Cerceau to reconstruct the horseshoe stairway earlier designed by Philibert Delorme on the courtyard that had become known as the Cour de Cheval Blanc. After his death, his widow, Anne of Austria , redecorated the apartments within the Wing of

4410-569: The château. Using land on the east side of the château purchased from the order of the Trinitarians, he began to build a new square of buildings around a large courtyard. It was enclosed on the north by the wing of the Ministers, on the east by the wing of Ferrare, and on the south by a wing containing the new gallery of Ulysses. The château was surrounded by a new park in the style of the Italian Renaissance garden , with pavilions and

4500-498: The coat of arms of France and the salamander , the emblem of the King. The upper walls are covered by frescoes framed in richly sculpted stucco. The frescoes depicted mythological scenes to illustrate the virtues of the King. On the side of gallery with windows, the frescoes represent Ignorance Driven Out ; The Unity of the State ; Cliobis and Biton ; Danae ; The Death of Adonis ; The Loss of Perpetual Youth ; and The Battle of

4590-533: The collection, including the replica of the crown of Siam given by the Siamese government to Napoleon III, a Tibetan mandala , and an enamel chimera from the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (1736–1795). The Gallery of Francis I is one of the first and finest examples of Renaissance decoration in France. It was begun in 1528 as a passageway between the apartments of the King with the oval courtyard and

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4680-597: The construction of a monastery of the Trinitarians , a mendicant order of monks, close to the castle The modest medieval castle remained until the reign of Francis I of France (1494–1547). The King commissioned the architect Gilles Le Breton to build a new palace in the Renaissance style. Le Breton created the Cour Ovale, or oval courtyard, He preserved the original medieval keep on one side, but added

4770-476: The couple had produced two daughters, but no male heir. Immediately after their annulment, Eleanor married Henry , Duke of Normandy and Count of Anjou , to whom she conveyed Aquitaine . Following Henry's accession as King Henry II of England, these territories formed the Angevin Empire . Later, Louis supported Henry and Eleanor's sons in their rebellion against their father to foment further disunity in

4860-411: The eastern end of the room is a gallery where the musicians played during balls. The decor was restored many times over the years. The frescoes on the walls and pillars were painted beginning in 1552 by Nicolo dell'Abate , following drawings by Primaticcio. On the garden side of the ballroom, they represent: The Harvest ; Vulcan forging weapons for Love at the request of Venus ; Phaeton begging

4950-506: The exterior and can be found on vernacular and small scale buildings. Thus, it is found mainly on noble residences and public buildings. A classic use of both is that represented in the mosaics of Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo of the Royal Palace. Loggias differ from verandas in that they are more architectural and, in form, are part of the main edifice in which they are located, while verandas are roofed structures attached on

5040-467: The façades around the courtyard, including that of the chapel of Saint-Saturnin, to give the architecture greater harmony. On the east side, he built a new monumental domed gateway, the Porte du Baptistère. Between 1606 and 1609, he built a new courtyard, the Cour des Offices or Quartier Henry IV, to provide a place for the kitchens and residences for court officials. Two new galleries, the Gallery of Diana and

5130-429: The first grotto in France. Francesco Primaticcio created more monumental murals for the gallery of Ulysses. Following the death of Francis I, King Henry II continued to expand the chateau. The King and his wife, Catherine de' Medici , chose the architects Philibert de l'Orme and Jean Bullant to do the work. They extended the east wing of the lower court and decorated it with a horseshoe-shaped staircase, which

5220-418: The fresco themes are more contemporary. A fresco above the fireplace depicts Sébastien de Rabutin, a huissier of the Court of Henry II, who in 1548 killed a wolf during a hunt in the forest of Orléans. Henry II commissioned the painting to commemorate the event. Behind the ballroom is St. Saturnin's Chapel. The lower chapel was originally built in the 12th century, but was completely rebuilt under Francis I with

5310-485: The great chapel of the Trinitarian monastery, but in 1531 Francis I made it a part of his royal apartments, and between 1533 and 1539 it was decorated by artists and craftsmen from Italy, under the direction of the painter Rosso Fiorentino , or Primaticcio, in the new Renaissance style. The lower walls of the passage were the work of the master Italian furniture maker Francesco Scibec da Carpi ; they are decorated with

5400-565: The kingdoms of France and Hungary remained cordial long after this time: decades later, Louis's daughter Margaret was taken as wife by Géza's son Béla III of Hungary . After receiving provisions from Géza, the armies continued the march to the East. Just beyond Laodicea at Honaz , the French army was ambushed by Turks. In the resulting battle of Mount Cadmus , the Turks first bombarded the French with arrows and heavy stones, then swarmed down from

5490-445: The large parterre into a French formal garden . He removed the hanging garden which Henry IV had built next to the large fish pond, and instead built a pavilion, designed by Le Vau, on a small island in the center of the pond. Louis XIV welcomed many foreign guests there, including the former Queen Christina of Sweden , who had just abdicated her crown. While a guest in the château on 10 November 1657, Christina suspected her Master of

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5580-469: The love life of Alexander the Great . The paintings are framed by large statues of women by Primaticcio. The eastern wall of the room was destroyed during the reconstruction, and was replaced during the reign of Louis Philippe in the 19th century with paintings by Abel de Pujol . All of the queens and empresses of France, from Marie de' Medici to the Empress Eugènie , slept in the bedchamber of

5670-426: The marriage, Louis VI died, and Louis became king. The pairing of the monkish Louis and the high-spirited Eleanor was doomed to failure; she reportedly once declared that she had thought to marry a king, only to find she had married a monk. There was a marked difference between the frosty, reserved culture of the northern court in the Île-de-France , where Louis had been raised, and the rich, free-wheeling court life of

5760-405: The meantime, Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou , completed his conquest of Normandy in 1144. In exchange for being recognised as Duke of Normandy by Louis, Geoffrey surrendered half of the county of Vexin—a region vital to Norman security—to Louis. Considered a clever move by Louis at the time, it would later prove yet another step towards Angevin rule. In June 1147, in fulfillment of his vow to mount

5850-513: The mountains and massacred them. The historian Odo of Deuil gives this account: During the fighting the King Louis lost his small and famous royal guard, but he remained in good heart and nimbly and courageously scaled the side of the mountain by gripping the tree roots [...] The enemy climbed after him, hoping to capture him, and the enemy in the distance continued to fire arrows at him. But God willed that his cuirass should protect him from

5940-470: The next day at Barbeau Abbey , which he had founded. His remains were moved to the Basilica of Saint-Denis in 1817. Louis' children by his three marriages: With Eleanor of Aquitaine : With Constance of Castile : With Adela of Champagne : Louis is a character in Jean Anouilh 's 1959 play Becket . In the 1964 film adaptation , he was portrayed by John Gielgud , who was nominated for

6030-442: The old apartments of the baths under the Gallery of Francis I to create new apartments for the royal princes, and he made some modifications to the apartments of the King. The architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart built a new wing alongside the Gallery of Deer and the Gallery of Diana to provide more living space for the Court. He did make major changes in the park and gardens; he commissioned André Le Nôtre and Louis Le Vau to redesign

6120-508: The pope intervened to bring the two kings to terms at Vitry-en-Perthois . In 1165, Louis's third wife bore him a son and heir, Philip . Louis had him crowned at Reims in 1179, in the Capetian tradition (Philip would in fact be the last king so crowned). Already stricken with paralysis, Louis himself could not be present at the ceremony. He died on 18 September 1180 in Paris and was buried

6210-464: The private apartments were redecorated to suit the tastes of the Emperor and Empress. Numerous guest apartments were squeezed into unused spaces of the buildings. The old theater of the palace, built in the 18th century, was destroyed by a fire in the wing of the Belle Cheminée 1856. Between 1854 and 1857 the architect Hector Lefuel built a new theater in the Louis XVI style , where famous actors from

6300-436: The project was abandoned. Louis decided to leave the Holy Land, despite the protests of Eleanor, who still wanted to help her doomed uncle Raymond. Louis and the French army returned home in 1149. The expedition to the Holy Land came at a great cost to the royal treasury and military. It also precipitated a conflict with Eleanor that led to the annulment of their marriage. Perhaps the marriage to Eleanor might have continued if

6390-489: The reign of Philip I of France (1060 to 1108), when the Gâtinais region was annexed from the Duchy of Burgundy . It became a favorite summer residence and hunting lodge of the kings of France because of the abundant game and many springs in the surrounding forest. The first chateau was a square "donjon" or keep , a fortified tower surrounded by a wall. It was three stories high, and occupied an area of about fifty square meters. The lower walls were three meters wide while

6480-453: The royal couple had produced a male heir, but this had not occurred. The Council of Beaugency found an exit clause, declaring that Louis and Eleanor were too closely related for their marriage to be legal, thus the marriage was annulled on 21 March 1152. The pretext of kinship was the basis for annulment, but in fact, it owed more to the state of hostility between Louis and Eleanor, with a decreasing likelihood that their marriage would produce

6570-908: The sculptor Charles Henri Joseph Cordier . Close by, in the Louis XV wing, the Emperor established his office, and the Empress made her Salon of Lacquer. These were the last rooms created by the royal residents of Fontainebleau. In 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War , the Second Empire fell, and the château was closed. During the Franco-Prussian War, the palace was occupied by the Prussian Army on 17 September 1870, and briefly used as an army headquarters by Frederick Charles of Prussia from March 1871. Following

6660-528: The section known today as the wing of the Belle Cheminée, noted for its elaborate chimneys and its two opposing stairways. In 1565, as a security measure due to the Wars of Religion , she also had a moat dug around the château to protect it against attack. King Henry IV made more additions to the château than any king since Francis I. He extended the oval court toward the west by building two pavilions, called Tiber and Luxembourg. Between 1601 and 1606, he remade all

6750-550: The soldiers of the Old Guard , assembled in the Court of Honor. Later, during the Hundred Days , he stopped there on 20 March 1815. In his memoirs, written while in exile on Saint Helena , he recalled his time at Fontainebleau; "...the true residence of kings, the house of the centuries. Perhaps it was not a rigorously architectural palace, but it was certainly a place of residence well thought out and perfectly suitable. It

6840-578: The sun to let him drive his chariot ; and Jupiter and Mercury at the home of Philemon and Baucis . The floor, which mirrors the design of the ceiling, was crafted by Louis-Philippe in the first half of the 19th century. The frescoes on the side of the Oval Courtyard represent: The feast of Bacchus ; Apollo and the Muses on Mount Parnassus ; The Three Graces dancing before the gods ; and The wedding feast of Thetis and Peleus . Some of

6930-516: The theatres of Paris performed portions of plays for the guests of the Emperor. On the ground floor of the Gros Pavilion, the Empress Eugénie built a small but rich museum, containing gifts from the King of Siam in 1861, and works of art taken during the pillage of the Summer Palace in Beijing. It also featured paintings by contemporary artists, including Franz Xaver Winterhalter , and

7020-690: The upper floors of the wing of the Belle Cheminée, burned in 1856, were rebuilt by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation . During World War II, it was occupied by the Germans on 16 June 1940, and occupied until 10 November, and again from 15 May to the end of October 1941. Following the war, part of the château became a headquarters of the Western Union and later NATO 's Allied Forces Central Europe / Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe , until 1966. The general restoration of

7110-562: The upper walls were a meter wide, made of stone, had windows facing north and south and were topped by a wooden palisade. The King resided on the middle level. The original tower, rebuilt to fit the later styles, is still part of the Oval Court. Louis VII built a chapel which was consecrated in 1169 by Thomas Becket , the English priest in exile in France because of this disagreements with King Henry II of England . He also sponsored

7200-563: The war, two of the buildings became the home of the School of Applied Artillery , which had been forced to leave Alsace when the province was annexed by Germany . It was occasionally used as a residence by the presidents of the Third Republic , and to welcome state guests including King Alexander I of Serbia (1891), King George I of Greece (1892) Leopold II of Belgium (1895) and King Alfonso XIII of Spain (1913). It also received

7290-514: The work, including the Mannerists painters Primaticcio and Niccolò dell'Abbate . It was also the birthplace of Francis II , Henry II's firstborn son. Following the death of Henry II in a jousting accident, his widow, Catherine de' Medici , took over the project, which she carried out through the reigns of her three sons, Francis II, Charles IX , and Henry III . She named Primaticcio as the new superintendent of royal public works. He designed

7380-509: Was a trip to Toulouse in 1159 to aid Raymond V, Count of Toulouse , who had been attacked by Henry II: Louis entered into the city with a small escort, claiming to be visiting his sister, the countess. Henry declared that he could not attack the city while his liege lord was inside, and went home. In 1169, Louis was petitioned by the bishop of Le Puy to stop the Viscount of Polignac from attacking travelers through Auvergne . The viscount

7470-454: Was besieged by Louis at Nonette and the county was turned into a prévôt . Louis' reign saw Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I press his claims to Arles , in southeastern France. When a papal schism broke out in 1159, Louis took the side of Pope Alexander III , the enemy of Frederick I, and after two comical failures of Frederick I to meet Louis at Saint-Jean-de-Losne (on 29 August and 22 September 1162), Louis definitely gave himself up to

7560-522: Was certainly the most comfortable and happily situated palace in Europe." Following the restoration of the monarchy , Kings Louis XVIII and Charles X each stayed at Fontainebleau, but neither made any major changes to the palace. Louis-Philippe I was more active, both restoring some rooms and redecorating others in the style of his period. The Hall of the Guards and Gallery of Plates were redecorated in

7650-478: Was desperate for a son, he married Adela of Champagne just 5 weeks later. To counterbalance the advantage this would give the king of France, Henry II had the marriage of their children (Henry "the Young King" and Margaret) celebrated at once. Louis understood the danger of the growing Angevin power; however, through indecision and a lack of fiscal and military resources in comparison to Henry II, he failed to oppose Angevin hegemony effectively. One of his few successes

7740-533: Was funded by the government of Abu-Dhabi , and in exchange the theater was renamed for Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan . It was inaugurated on 30 April 2014. On 1 March 2015, the Chinese Museum of the château was robbed by professional thieves. They broke in at about six in the morning, and, despite alarms and video cameras, in seven minutes stole about fifteen of the most valuable objects in

7830-509: Was later enlarged, and became a symbol of the château. Their major project was the Oval Court, which was designed to be the entrance to the new royal apartments. They transformed the loggia originally planned by Francis I into a Salle des Fêtes, or grand ballroom, with a coffered ceiling. Facing the courtyard of the fountain and the fish pond. The decoration of the new ballroom featured murals by Francesco Primaticcio , surrounded by elaborate stucco sculpture. A new generation of artists joined

7920-468: Was later involved in the failed siege of Damascus and eventually returned to France in 1149. Louis' reign saw the founding of the University of Paris . He and his counsellor, Abbot Suger , pushed for greater centralisation of the state and favoured the development of French Gothic architecture , notably the construction of Notre-Dame de Paris . Louis' marriage to Eleanor was annulled in 1152 after

8010-691: Was occupied so much of the time with military campaigns. Between 1812 and 1814, the château served as a very elegant prison for Pope Pius VII. On 5 November 1810, the chapel of the château was used for the baptism of Napoleon's nephew, the future Napoleon III , with Napoleon serving as his godfather, and the Empress Marie-Louise as his godmother. Napoleon spent the last days of his reign at Fontainebleau, before abdicating there on 4 April 1814, under pressure from his Marshals , Ney , Berthier , and Lefebvre . On 20 April, after failing in an attempt to commit suicide, he gave an emotional farewell to

8100-569: Was to Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine , one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in western Europe. The marriage temporarily extended the Capetian lands to the Pyrenees . Louis was the second son of Louis VI of France and Adelaide of Maurienne , and was initially prepared for a career in the Church . Following the death of his older brother, Philip , in 1131, Louis became heir apparent to

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