- Type
- Palace / château
- Origins
- c. 1540 · 16th century per Wikidata: founding, first mention or construction
- Location
- Île-de-France, France
- Style
- Renaissance
- Architect
- Jean Goujon, Jean Bullant
- Coordinates
- 49.0175°, 2.3783°
History
Anne de Montmorency, Constable of France and one of the most powerful men under Francis I and Henry II, began a new residence on a hill above Écouen around 1538. The four-sided château with corner pavilions went up over the following decades; its decoration involved the sculptor Jean Goujon and the architect Jean Bullant, who designed its monumental porticoes. When the Montmorency line died out the château passed to the Princes of Condé. In 1807 Napoleon set up a school here for the daughters of members of the Legion of Honour, run by Madame Campan. Since 1977 it has housed the National Museum of the Renaissance.
What to see
The pale stone château is ringed by dry moats and a large park overlooking the plain. Its rooms keep painted 16th-century chimneypieces, and the museum displays furniture, ceramics, goldsmiths' work, armour and stained glass of the period. The finest ensemble is a set of ten tapestries telling the story of David and Bathsheba, and the collection also includes a silver figure of Daphne from a Nuremberg goldsmith's workshop.
Wikipedia article Official website Wikidata Q1817122
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