page_title: Palace of Fontainebleau
section_title: Château from Louis XIII through Louis XVI
hierarchical_section_title: Palace of Fontainebleau / History / Château from Louis XIII through Louis XVI
caption_attribution_description: This building is classé au titre des Monuments Historiques. It is indexed in the Base Mérimée, a database of architectural heritage maintained by the French Ministry of Culture,&#160;under the reference PA00086975 . беларуская (тарашкевіца)‎&#160;| বাংলা&#160;| brezhoneg&#160;| català&#160;| Deutsch&#160;| Ελληνικά&#160;| English&#160;| Esperanto&#160;| español&#160;| euskara&#160;| suomi&#160;| français&#160;| magyar&#160;| italiano&#160;| 日本語&#160;| македонски&#160;| Nederlands&#160;| português&#160;| português do Brasil&#160;| română&#160;| русский&#160;| sicilianu&#160;| svenska&#160;| українська&#160;| +/−
context_page_description: The Palace of Fontainebleau or Château de Fontainebleau, located 55 kilometers southeast of the center of Paris, in the commune of Fontainebleau, is one of the largest French royal châteaux. The medieval castle and subsequent palace served as a residence for the French monarchs from Louis VII to Napoleon III. Francis I and Napoleon were the monarchs who had the most influence on the Palace as it stands today. It became a national museum in 1927 and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981.
context_section_description: King Louis XIII was born and baptized in the Château, and continued the works begun by his father. He completed the decoration of the chapel of the Trinity, and assigned the court architect Jean Androuet du Cerceau to reconstruct the horseshoe stairway earlier designed by Philibert Delorme on the courtyard that had become known as the Cour de Cheval Blanc. After his death, his widow, Anne of Austria, redecorated the apartments within the Wing of the Queen Mothers (Aile des Reines Mères) next to the Court of the Fountain, designed by Primatrice.
  King Louis XIV spent more days at Fontainebleau than any other monarch; he liked to hunt there every year at the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. He made few changes to the exterior of the château, but did build a new apartment for his companion Madame de Maintenon, furnished it with some major works of André-Charles Boulle and demolished the old apartments of the baths under the Gallery of Francis I to create new apartments for the royal princes, and he made some modifications to the apartments of the King. The architect Jules Hardouin-Mansard built a new wing alongside the Galerie des Cerfs and the Galerie de Diane to provide more living space for the Court. He did make major changes in the park and gardens;  he commissioned André Le Nôtre and Louis Le Vau to redesign the large parterre into a French formal garden. He destroyed the hanging garden which Henry IV had built next to the large fish pond, and instead built a pavilion, designed by Le Vau, on a small island in the center of the pond.
  Louis XIV signed the Edict of Fontainebleau at the Château on 22 October 1685, revoking the policy of tolerance towards Protestants begun by Henry IV. Louis welcomed many foreign guests there, including the former Queen Christina of Sweden, who had just abdicated her crown. While a guest in the Château on 10 November 1657, Christina suspected her Master of the Horse and reputed lover, the Marchese Gian Rinaldo Monaldeschi, of betraying her secrets to her enemies. Her servants chased him through the halls of the Château and stabbed him to death. Louis XIV came to see her at the Château, did not mention the murder, and allowed her to continue her travels.
  On May 19–20, 1717, during the Regency following the death of Louis XIV, the Russian Czar Peter the Great was a guest at Fontainebleau. A hunt for stags was organized for him, and a banquet. Officially the visit was a great success. But in the memoirs published later by members of the delegation, it appears that Peter disliked the French style of hunting, and that he found the Château too small, compared with the other royal French residences. The routine of Fontainebleau also did not suit his tastes; he preferred beer to wine (and brought his own supply with him) and he liked to get up early, unlike the French Court.
  The renovation projects of Louis XV were more ambitious than those of Louis XIV. To create more lodging for his enormous number of courtiers In 1737–38 the King built a new courtyard, called the Cour de la Conciergerie or the Cour des Princes, to the east of the Galerie des Cerfs. On the Cour du Cheval Blanc, the wing of the Gallery of Ulysses was torn down and gradually replaced by a new brick and stone building, built in stages in 1738–1741 and 1773–74, extending west toward the Pavilion and grotto of the pines.
  Between 1750 and 1754, the King commissioned the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel to build a new wing along the Cour de la Fontaine and the fish pond. The old Pavilion des Poeles was demolished and replaced by the Gros Pavilion, built of cream-colored stone. Lavish new apartments were created inside this building for the King and the Queen. The new meeting room for the Royal Council was decorated by the leading painters of the day, including François Boucher, Carle Vanloo, Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre and Alexis Peyrotte. A magnificent small theater was created on the first floor of the wing of the Belle Cheminée.
  King Louis XVI also made additions to the château to create more space for his courtiers. A new bui
caption: The Gros Pavilion in the center, built by Louis XV for the new royal apartments between 1750 and 1754.
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