About the castle
Pierrefonds Castle is located in the southeastern part of the Compiègne forest, near the cities of Compiègne and Ville Cotret (France).
History of the castle
Pierrefonds is included in the list of well-preserved fighting castles in France. The idea of its creation belongs to Louis of Orleans, son of Charles V in the 90s of the 14th century. The castle was built near the river, on a small hill, on the remains of a castle from the 12th century, and over the past centuries a real city has developed around Pierrefonds.
In the 12th century the castle was owned by the Pierfons of Chierzi. Only the cellars have survived from it. At the end of the 12th century, Pierrefonds becomes the possession of King Philip Augustus.
In 1392, Pierrefonds and the Duchy of Touraine were presented by Charles VI to Duke Louis of Orléans.
Pierrefonds became a castle of a new type. The era of ascetic uncompromising knights has changed, castles have become not just defensive structures, but also had to instill fear in enemies with their scale and luxury. Pierrefonds has become such a castle. The Hall of the Knights of the Round Table and the Hall of Heroines were equipped not only with huge fireplaces, but also with luxurious furniture, rich tapestries and paintings. Bas-reliefs with mythical monsters appeared on the walls of the castle, which symbolically protect the huge castle from enemies.
This powerful fortress, built according to the laws of medieval military architecture, was necessary for Louis. In the era Hundred Years War easily arose political parties and often recalcitrant nobles paid with their heads on the scaffold. Louis maneuvered between everyone and could conclude alliances of France against the British and with the British against France. Fortune favored him, and he became the king's regent. In 1407, fortune turned against him, and Louis of Orleans was killed by a rival to the royal throne. After that, a 24-year civil war began.
In 1396, a complete rebuilding of the castle began, the name of the architect is not exactly known, but it is assumed that it was Raymond du Temple. Later, work on the castle was led by the architect of the king, Jean Le Noir, together with Jean Obele. Louis did not have time to see the finished castle, as the construction was completed after his death.
When power passed to Louis XIII, the owner of the castle was François-Hannibal d'Estre (brother Gabriel d'Estre). He was a member of the "Discontented" party with Prince Condé at the head. In March 1617, the castle of Pierrefonds was besieged by troops sent on the orders of Cardinal Richelieu. The cardinal wanted the castle to be destroyed, but due to the massiveness of the structure, his plan failed - the roof and external fortifications were damaged.
The 19th century was characterized by a passion for medieval architecture and the ruins of Pierrefonds attracted attention as a place for a romantic getaway. Napoleon I in 1813 decides to acquire the land on which the castle stands.
In August 1832, a wedding banquet is held at the castle of Pierrefonds on the occasion of the wedding of the daughter of Louis-Philippe Louise and the first king of Belgium, Leopold of Saxe-Coburg.
The castle has been featured in many famous paintings. visual arts, including Koro.
The future Emperor Napoleon III was very interested in archeology and visited the ruins in 1850. And in 1857, on the advice of Prosper Merimee, he decided to reconstruct the castle and turn it into his residence. Reconstruction work was carried out according to the designs of Viollet-le-Duc, who had the authority of the best specialist in Renaissance architecture. He was engaged in the restoration of Gothic and Romanesque architectural structures eg Carcassonne, Notre Dame Cathedral, Chartres Cathedral. But not everyone agreed with his methods of work, and he was criticized a lot for the “wrong” approach. He rebuilt buildings according to his ideas, and this often did not coincide with the former appearance of the building. Initially, in Pierrefonds, it was planned to build towers with living quarters, leaving the "picturesque" ruins intact. Work in the castle was carried out until 1885, and after the death of Viollet-le-Duc in 1879, control over the project was headed by Duke's student Urado.
There are quite a few castles in the vicinity of Paris, and if you intend to visit most of them, then Pierrefonds Castle should be on the way of your route, although it is not so easy to get to it - trains do not go there, the main highways are also located in the distance, but with a Russian guide in Paris, it will be easier to do so. And if you do not want to go there with double transfers - train - bus, then the best choice how Russian speaking guide you won't find it with a car. In less than an hour, you will comfortably reach this miracle of the architectural art of the engineer and part-time architect Viollet-le-Duc.
The history of the castle is strange and confusing, like intrigues palace coups but you can try to figure it out.
The castle of Pierrefonds was built back in the century in the form ancient fortress with defensive structures and served its owners for centuries, until the well-known Cardinal Rechelier ordered it to be destroyed for debts that, alas, the owners of the castle could not pay. This happened tragic story back in 1617, although this building could not be completely wiped off the face of the earth, and very romantic ruins remained of the castle, which stood in this form for about 200 years.
And in 1813, the castle of Pierrefonds seems to be lucky and the King of France, Napoleon I, buys the castle and its territory in order to build outbuildings on these lands. But even after 20 years, the emperor did not remember about his possessions, until the Duke of Orleans liked the picturesque lawns surrounding the castle and he decided to celebrate his daughter's wedding here. After that, the castle was again forgotten, and only 30 years later, the nephew of that Napoleon, Napoleon III, remembered the castle as his inheritance and decided to restore it. In addition, according to rumors, it was this castle that his wife really liked and it was she who contributed to the fact that the castle acquired such a Disney look and it was from her light hand Viollet-le-Duc became the architect who restored the castle.
It should be noted here that this architect was a little odd and never kept the original appearance of the destroyed buildings that he had to restore - he built them the way he liked best. That is why the castle turned out to be completely different than it was originally and grew up on the site of an ancient fortress. luxury palace. Construction continued for 26 years, even after the death of Viollet-le-Duc, and only in 1885 was it successfully completed.
The dimensions of the castle are impressive - 103 by 88 meters in the form of a rectangle, and some walls reach a diameter of 5-6 meters. The courtyard located inside was called the Court of Honor and a monument to Louis of Orleans was erected in it. One of the most beautiful halls in the castle is considered to be the Hall of the Knights' Ladies and the Armorial Hall.
Where is: Picardy, 14 km southeast of Compiègne.
How does it work: from May to September 9.30-18.00; from September 5 to April 10.00-13.00 and 14.00-17.30, day off - Mon. Closed on national holidays.
Issue price: 6.50 euros.
What to look at: when you look at the palace, it seems - here it is, the real one medieval castle: thick walls, defensive towers, powerful gates and even a small village at the foot of the castle hill. However, the most striking buildings date back to the 19th century.
Story
The first castle arose here during the Carolingian times on the site of a Roman settlement on a hill near the lake, where they once beat thermal springs.
In 1185, it was acquired by King Philip-Augustus, later Pierrefonds, together with the surrounding lands of Crepy, Bethhisy, La Ferte-Milon, became part of the Duchy of Valois.
C. Corot "Castle of Pierrefonds"
During the Hundred Years' War in 1392, Louis d'Orleans, brother and regent under the mad King Charles VI, rebuilt it and included it in a chain of defenses that stretched between the rivers Oise (Oise) and Urk (Ourcq). The work on the alteration of the castle of Pierrefonds is headed by the royal architect Jean Black (Jean Le Noir). Construction was completed after the death of Louis of Orleans, who was killed in 1407. by order of his cousin, the Duke of Burgundy, Jean the Fearless. The powerful walls of the new castle successfully repel numerous sieges by the British, Burgundians and royal troops.
In the 16th century, the castle fell into the hands of Antoine d'Estre, Marquis de Quevre, father of the beautiful Gabrielle d'Estre, favorite of King Henry IV of Navarre. AT early XVII century, the Marquis de Quevre, son of Henry IV and Gabriel d'Estre take the side of the Prince of Condé in the struggle between the highest aristocracy of France and the young king Louis XIII, son of Henry IV and his second wife, Marie de Medici. AT mid-seventeenth centuries, the castle was destroyed by order of Cardinal Richelieu.
C. Corot "The ruins of the castle of Pierrefonds"
The ruins of the castle attracted artists and writers of the 18th century, romantics of the 19th century, and in 1813 the remains of the castle were bought by Napoleon I for less than 3,000 francs. In 1857, Louis-Napoleon, a lover of history and archeology, commissioned the architect Viollet-le-Duc to build something romantic on the site of the ruins, as the new emperor needed a renovated residence.
The architect began restoration work in 1857, but died in 1879 before he could complete the work. It was replaced first by Ouradou and then by Lisch, and in 1885 the restoration was completed. This "remake" looks more Gothic than the original buildings of the Middle Ages. Of course, art historians are absolutely right when they say that both historical accuracy and the architectural canon were violated during the construction, but the castle turned out to be very beautiful! From the fortress of Louis of Orleans, the foundations of the wall and towers have been preserved.
Photo from 1890.
Photo 2009.
The castle has rectangular shape 103 m x 88 m, walls and towers 5-6 meters thick. Each tower has its own name: Hector, Arthur, Alexander, Charlemagne, Julius Caesar.
The courtyard inside the castle is called the Court of Honor. Here you can see a well and a monument to Louis d'Orleans.
The castle chapel contains foundry products of local craftsmen. And in the crypt - imitation gravestones prominent personalities: kings, queens, favorites, courtiers.
Le Duc built the interiors in the Renaissance style, adding gothic touches - chimeras, salamanders and other little animals.
Inside the castle are very interesting drawings depicting the ruins before the restoration. In the living room, various chimeras and other monsters are presented - a fantastic fauna of the Middle Ages, carved from Hungarian oak by Viollet le Duc. In the hall of plaster works, his own sketches-works are presented, which were later used as models for stone sculptures in the design of the restored castle.
The most beautiful are the two communicating halls - the Armorial Hall and the Hall of Knights' Ladies, reflecting the romantic ideas of the 19th century about the kings of the past. The Empress and her court ladies are depicted as heroines of antiquity.
Road to Pierrefonds
Wake up again at 8 in the morning. Breakfast worthy without frills and check out at 9. It was quite a busy day in terms of moving. A tour of the Pierrefonds castle was planned (where the TV series Merlin is filmed), and we were supposed to spend the night in Stuttgart. There are more than 300 km to Pierrefonds, and about 700 km from Pierrefonds to Stuttgart. On this day, for the first (and thank God for the last) time we encountered a gas station restriction. Diesel could only be refueled for 20 euros. I must say that we were very lucky, because. this was the beginning of the well-known strikes and a serious fuel crisis in France, and the very next day you could be completely without fuel and stuck in France for a week. In France, we tried to refuel at Shell gas stations. at that time there was special promotion, when refueling for a certain amount for two euros, you could buy a model car (very solid, iron), and since our daughter loves cars very much, we could not pass by. As a result, we collected three cars out of six :)
The road to Pierrefonds cost a pretty penny, about 30 euros. Moreover, the payment scheme was initially unusual. When leaving the autobahn on the way to Caen, there are points with barriers where there are no cashiers, and tickets are simply issued. And already further, 100 kilometers to Paris, there are the usual payment points where you give the received ticket and see the number that you hit. So this site cost us 14 euros. Bypass tunnels near Paris cost 7.90 for some 30 km. Zam Castle Pierrefonds, although in the Middle Ages it was a kind of customs terminal, is located far from the main roads. Having left the highway, we made our way to it along roads similar to the paths in our parks. And in general, the forests in the castle area are more like parklands than a forest. Periodically came across parking lots with cars. People come just to walk. Without a navigator, finding the castle would be extremely difficult. Lots of crossroads and forks. All roads are similar to each other, narrow, small. But asphalt is good.
Around 13:30 we entered the city at the foot of the castle. The city is very small. There is no organized parking, arriving cars park on the streets, in free places. We park the car and head towards the castle. The road passes through a fairly large "flea" market. A kind of spectacle. Interesting and beautiful things come across.
But our goal is the castle itself and we are heading towards it. I must say that on this day it was even colder when we left Caen it was -2, in the afternoon the temperature rose to 7, but the wind was just icy. We went up to the gates of the castle just at the moment when a train with tourists was leaving it.
Aunty driver stopped in front of us and began to explain something on French. We didn't really understand. And she explained everything. I can't imagine such a picture in Russia. There is a full locomotive of tourists, and the aunt herself, having stopped, explains something to us for about 5 minutes, but she would have been eaten by us a long time ago :) In the end, she explained to us that the palace is closed for lunch from 14 to 15. How nice, they thanked her and went walk around the castle.
Again, the absence of tourists is a great opportunity to take beautiful pictures.
For half an hour they walked and went to warm up and have dinner. The choice of places for lunch is very modest, because. the city is quite small. We went into almost the only large cafe where we met ... the driver of a train (the train was parked nearby), which means a good place- we thought and settled down at the table. The food was really tasty, although it was not delivered very quickly. Portions are usually huge.
pierfon castle
After lunch we went to the castle. There was not much time left, because. there was a long journey ahead. We walked around the castle for about an hour. The castle was destroyed and restored relatively recently, so there is not much smell of antiquity there.
In addition, almost half of the castle is closed to the public. Although even without it there is something to see.
We arrived in Stuttgart at 21:00. After the autobahns, driving 50 km / h through the streets of the city was painful. From all sorts of sources, we knew that to drive around the city you need an environmental plaquette (UmwelPlakette), a round sticker that is molded onto the windshield. The number on the plaque shows the exhaust level of the car. The fine for driving without it is quite heavy (about 40 euros) at a cost of 6 euros per plaque, however, as the manager at the hotel assured us, they can forgive us for the first time. Naturally, at 10 pm there was nowhere to buy it, but we arrived at the hotel calmly. At this time, the city is simply empty, it is very unusual and even somehow uncomfortable to be on the street.
Hotel in Stuttgart
We parked our cars in the parking lot at the hotel and went to check in. The hotel itself consists of two buildings. The rooms are not large, made antique, but comfortable enough. The next day was a free day in Stuttgart. Departure was scheduled for 21:00.
Pierrefonds Castle (Chateau de Pierrefonds) was built in the 90s of the XIV century on the site of earlier fortifications of the XII century, destroyed in the XVII century, restored in the second half of the XIX century.
In the 12th century, the castle belonged to the lords of Pierrefonds of Chierzi. Only basements. At the end of the 12th century, it passes to King Philip Augustus and from that moment becomes a royal possession.
Duke Louis of Orleans received in 1392 a gift from his brother - King Charles VI of Pierrefonds and the Duchy of Touraine. The surroundings of Pierrefonds became part of the county of Valois, which became a duchy. In 1396, Louis began a complete rebuilding of the castle, the architect is unknown, but it may have been Raymond du Temple. The work was later led by the royal architect Jean Le Noir under the supervision of Jean Aubele. Construction was completed after the assassination (1407) of Louis of Orleans.
At the beginning of the reign of Louis XIII, the castle belonged to François-Hannibal d'Estre (brother of the beautiful Gabrielle d'Estre), who joined the party of the "dissatisfied" led by Prince Condé. In March 1617, Pierrefonds was besieged and taken by troops sent by Cardinal Richelieu. The cardinal ordered the destruction of the castle, but due to the scale of the structure, they limited themselves to tearing down the outer fortifications and destroying the roof.
In 1813 Emperor Napoleon I bought the land on which the castle was located. In August 1832, Louis Philippe holds a banquet at the castle of Pierrefonds on the occasion of the wedding of his daughter Louise and Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, the first Belgian king. Many artists, including Corot, captured the castle in their works. Prince Napoleon, the future emperor, who was interested in archeology, visited the ruins of the castle in 1850. In 1857, on the advice of Prosper Mérimée, he decided to restore Pierrefonds and make it his residence.
The reconstruction of the castle began under the leadership of Viollet-le-Duc, who was considered the best specialist on the architecture of the Middle Ages. He restored such Romanesque and Gothic architectural complexes as the Cathedral Notre Dame of Paris, Chartres Cathedral, Carcassonne. However, his method of restoring ancient monuments had both supporters and opponents who criticized Viollet-le-Duc for being unscientific. He created structures the way they should have been in his mind. Often the appearance of the restored building had little in common with what it once was. Initially, it was supposed to rebuild only a few towers with living quarters, while preserving the "picturesque" ruins. The work continued until 1885, after the death of Viollet-le-Duc (1879) they were led by his student Urado.
Pierrefonds Castle receives visitors every day from 10 am to 6 pm from May to September. And from October to April from 10 am to 5 pm. Weekday break from 12:30 to 14:00. Ticket price €6.5.
Wiki: en:Pierrefonds (castle) en:Château de Pierrefonds de:Schloss Pierrefonds es:Castillo de Pierrefonds
This is a description of the attraction Chateau Pierrefonds in Pierrefonds Les Baines, Picardy (France). As well as photos, reviews and a map of the surroundings. Find out the history, coordinates, where it is located and how to get there. Check out other places on our interactive map, get more detailed information. Know the world better.
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