Château de Maintenon

The château today seen from the south, with the cour d'honneur between the west and east wings

The Château de Maintenon is a château, developed from the original castle, situated in the commune of Maintenon in the Eure-et-Loir département of France. It is best known as being the private residence of the second spouse of Louis XIV, Madame de Maintenon.

The castle has been classified as a Monument historique since 1944 by the French Ministry of Culture.[1]

Description

Construction

The construction of the castle began in the 12th and ended in roughly the 18th century. In the early 16th century it was purchased by Louis XII's treasurer Jean Cottereau, who transformed the castle into a country house. In the 17th century it was rebuilt for Madame de Maintenon, who purchased the estate in 1675.[1]

The château's main features are the keep, constructed in the 13th century, and the principal corps de logis, flanked by two round towers, one at the avant-cour and the other at the bridge across the moat. The east and west wings frame a cour d'honneur, beyond which is the moat filled by the waters of the Eure, and, beyond, the parterre and park. The picturesque massing of the varied towers and roofs pleased François-René de Chateaubriand who found its special character was like that of an abbey or an old town, "with its spires and steeples, grouped at hap-hazard".[2]

At the far end of the gardens is the aqueduct called the Canal de l'Eure, also known as the canal de Louis XIV, ordered by Louis XIV. Its colossal scale impressed Chateaubriand, who said that it was "a work worthy of the Caesars".[2] It was constructed by the Marquis de Vauban between 1685 and 1690 in order to transport water from the Eure River to the gardens and fountains at the Château de Versailles.

In the 18th century there was an orangerie constructed as well as stables.

Interior

The grande gallerie

The interior has been restored and furniture and decoration can be seen;

The other tower is not open to visitors.

Gardens and aqueduct

The aqueduct

The main parterre was designed by the famous André Le Nôtre[1] who also worked at Versailles, Saint-Germain-en-Laye and Marly. The parterre has two interlacing "L"'s, in honour of Louis XIV. Two allées, given modern names in honour of Le Nôtre and Racine, border the Eure river.

At the far end, cutting through the gardens, is the aqueduct built from 1685 to supply the fountains of the park of the Palace of Versailles. The project meant that water was diverted from the Eure river some 80 kilometres (50 mi) away. The arches of the structure reach a height of 60 feet. Vauban was in charge of the works.[3]

The aqueduct had to have 47 arcades to the first row, 195 arcades to the second and 390 to the third one. The wars of Louis XIV prevented the work's completion.

It is also classified as a Monument historique since 1875 by the French Ministry of Culture.[4]

History

Succession of owners and inhabitants

Famille de Maintenon

Lithograph of the 19th century by Bichebois

Cottereau Family

Angennes Family

The château as it was when Madame de Montespan stayed here

Famille d'Aubigné

House of Noailles

Fondation du château de Maintenon

See also

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 (French) Ministry of Culture database entry for Château de Maintenon, retrieved 9 January 2013
  2. 2.0 2.1 Alexander Teixeira de Mattos, tr.,The memoirs of François René Châteaubriant 1902:238
  3. Château de Maintenon: "The Vauban aqueduct", retrieved 9 January 2013
  4. (French) Ministry of Culture database entry for Ancien aqueduc de Pontgouin à Versailles
  5. Royal Genealogy Site, retrieved 9 January 2013

External links

Media related to Château de Maintenon at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 48°35′8″N 1°34′42″E / 48.58556°N 1.57833°E