page_title: Chateau-Neuf de Saint-Germain-en-Laye
section_title: Construction
hierarchical_section_title: Chateau-Neuf de Saint-Germain-en-Laye / Construction
caption_attribution_description: English: Engraving from Le premier volume des plus excellents Bastiments de France by Jacques I Androuet du Cerceau: general plan of the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye
context_page_description: The Château-Neuf de Saint-Germain-en-Laye was a French château in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, now mostly demolished, which served as a royal residence from the second half of the 16th century until 1680. It was built on the grounds of the older Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, which became known as the Château-Vieux.
context_section_description: The central building, on the edge of the terrace, was ordered in 1556 by Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici and was built by Philibert de l'Orme. Called in its day la maison du théâtre (the theater house), a succession of terraces and stairs gave access to the baignerie (from French baigner, "to bathe") on the Seine.
  From the beginning of his reign in 1593, King Henry IV would come to Saint-Germain because he took pleasure in the view the château and its terraces offered of the valley of the Seine, a view like that of his birthplace, the Château de Pau. He ordered from Baptiste Androuet du Cerceau an expansion of the terraces by the Seine. Work began in 1594.   
  Quickly finished by executive architect Jean de Fourcy, with Guillaume Marchant conducting the masonry work, the job involved the installation of grottoes, with automated fountains made by Italians, the Francini brothers, Thomas and Alexandre. The French garden, spread out by the Seine on five terraces, was designed by landscape designer Étienne Dupérac and by gardener Claude Mollet.
caption: General plan with the Château-Vieux on the left and the Château-Neuf on the right, engraving by Jacques Androuet du Cerceau (1576)
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