- Type
- Palace / château
- Origins
- 1656 · 17th century per Wikidata: founding, first mention or construction
- Location
- Île-de-France, France
- Style
- classical architecture
- Commissioned by
- Nicolas Fouquet
- Architect
- Louis Le Vau
- Coordinates
- 48.5658°, 2.7142°
History
Nicolas Fouquet, Louis XIV's superintendent of finances, built this residence on his estate near Melun between 1656 and 1661. He hired the architect Louis Le Vau, the painter Charles Le Brun and the gardener André Le Nôtre, and together they created the model of the French château and formal garden. On 17 August 1661 Fouquet threw a lavish party here for the king, with the première of Molière's comedy Les Fâcheux and a firework display. Less than three weeks later, on 5 September, d'Artagnan arrested him in Nantes, and Fouquet spent the rest of his life in prison. Louis XIV then put the same trio to work on Versailles. In 1875 the neglected château was bought by the industrialist Alfred Sommier, who restored it, and his descendants still own it.
What to see
Visitors tour the state rooms painted by Le Brun, including the oval Grand Salon beneath the dome and the apartments prepared for the king. The terraces open onto the vista of Le Nôtre's gardens, with embroidered parterres, canals, cascades and fountains stretching all the way to a distant statue of Hercules. The former outbuildings house a carriage museum.
Wikipedia article Official website Wikidata Q739976
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