- Château de Pierrefonds
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Château de Pierrefonds Part of Pierrefonds, Oise Paris, France 
Château de Pierrefonds in July 2008Type Medieval castle Built c. 1393-1407 Built by Louis I de Valois, Duke of Orléans Events Hundred Years War The Château de Pierrefonds (French pronunciation: [ʃɑto də pjɛʁfɔ̃]) is a castle situated in the commune of Pierrefonds in the Oise département (Picardy) of France. It is on the southeast edge of the Forest of Compiègne, north of Paris, between Villers-Cotterêts and Compiègne.
The Château 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.
Contents
History
In the 12th century, a castle was built on this site. Two centuries later, in 1392, 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 Orléans. From 1393 to his death in 1407, the latter had the castle rebuilt by the court architect, Jean le Noir.
In March 1617, during the early troubled days of Louis XIII's reign, the castle, then the property of François-Annibal d'Estrées (brother of the beauty Gabrielle d'Estrée), who joined the "parti des mécontents" (party of malcontents) led by Henri II, Prince of Condé, 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 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 August 1832, Louis-Philippe gave a banquet there on the occasion of the marriage of his daughter Louise to Léopold de Saxe-Cobourg Gotha, first king of Belgium. Among other artists, Corot depicted the ruins in several works between 1834 and 1866. The Château de Pierrefonds has been classified as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture since 1848.
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (later Napoleon III of France) visited the castle in 1850. As emperor, he asked Viollet-le-Duc in 1857 to undertake its restoration, continuators are Maurice Ouadou and Juste Lisch until 1885. 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, 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, six years after the death of Viollet-le-Duc. The departure of Napoléon 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.
Chateau de Pierrefonds in media
The castle has often been used as a location for filming including les Visiteurs, and The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc. The castle serves as Camelot for the BBC series Merlin, and a cut scene of this castle has been used to portray Wiz Tech Academy in Disney's TV series Wizards of Waverly Place. and also in the The Man in the Iron Mask (1998) – British/American film directed by Randall Wallace
Illustrations
Click on the thumbnail to enlarge.
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General view in 2004
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View of the ruins before the restoration
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Plan of the present castle
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Northeast tower restored
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Main entrance from the external courtyard
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Entrance to the principal residential block
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From an 1895 dictionary
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Stone scale model
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Donjon drain-pipe
See also
- List of castles in France
- Domaine du Bois d'Aucourt d'Adolphe Clément-Bayard à Pierrefonds, a former hunting lodge of Louis XIV.
External links
- Ministry of Culture database entry for Château de Pierrefonds (French)
- Ministry of Culture photos
- Pierrefonds and the Château de Pierrefonds
- Château de Pierrefonds on www.casteland.com
- Article and photos on the Château de Pierrefonds
- Google Map
- This article incorporates information from this version of the equivalent article on the French Wikipedia.
Categories:- Châteaux in Oise
- Official historical monuments of France
- Gothic architecture in France
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