On the outskirts of the Compiegne forest rises fairytale castle Pierrefonds (Chateau de Pierrefonds), which became the prototype of Disney palaces. His name preserves the memory of the noble Pierrefonds family - the founders and first owners of the fortress. Its walls remember Duke Louis of Orleans, an ardent opponent of Burgundy. But the current appearance of the castle is a monument to Napoleon III and his architect Viola le Duc. Although Le Duc is remembered by Notre Dame de Paris, Saint Denis and other iconic architectural monuments of Europe.
From Pierrefonds to Napoleon III
The fortress on a hill in the thicket of the Compiegne Forest was built in the 12th century by Lord Pierrefonds of Quierzy. It was a fortification typical of the Middle Ages, in which the local feudal lord planned his raids and defended the loot from zealous neighbors. A little later, the fortress became royal property. And in the 14th century it became part of the possessions of the Duke of Orleans, who began to rebuild the old fortress, planning to make the new castle his residence, fortunately, Paris is not far away. In the 17th century, the castle belonged to the brother of Gabriella d'Estrée, the favorite of Henry of Navarre. It was his participation in the party of the Prince of Condé, the king’s opponent, that led to the castle being destroyed by order of Cardinal Richelieu. True, the powerful walls survived, only the roof was broken and the fortifications were torn down. So the castle stood until the 19th century, until it caught the eye of Bonaparte. But the wars distracted the emperor, and the castle was forgotten again. But Napoleon III, preaching the romance of the Middle Ages, decided to restore some old fortresses, and, thanks to Prosper Merimee, turned his attention to Pierrefonds (according to another version, Empress Eugenie really liked Pierrefonds).
The task of restoring the castle was taken into his own hands by the architect Violet le Duc, a specialist in fortification structures of the Middle Ages. But he approached restoration work in a very unique way: he did not restore the exact appearance of the building, but remade it at his own discretion, stylizing it as Gothic and the Middle Ages.
Fairytale castle
Modern Pierrefonds is a synthesis of historically accurate form, modern construction technologies and eclectic interior design that anticipates Art Nouveau. The outer walls are an irregular rectangle, with 12 defensive towers built into them. In one of them there is a chapel, skillfully stylized as Gothic. The castle donjon is included in the overall defensive system. The courtyard is called the Court of Miracles due to its richly decorated facades. It contains a well with a holy spring and a statue of Louis of Orleans.
The interior of the inner chambers does not have a single style. From the halls stylized as the Middle Ages, you can get into the empress’s bedroom or the emperor’s office, decorated in the style of the Second Empire. The Knights' Hall and the Hall of Beautiful Ladies are the most impressive. The Pierrefonds dungeons are used to exhibit tombstones of famous personalities.
Pierrefonds today
Currently, 10 rooms and the underground Hall of the Gizants are available for inspection. Within the walls of the castle there is a Museum of Fortification, an exhibition of wood carvings belonging to the hand of Viola le Duc, and a collection of figured metal works of the Monduy dynasty. Moreover, the Monduis collection is not copies, but duplicates of original things.
You probably have a natural question: why did I place this article in the “Paris” section? The fact is that Pierrefonds Castle (Chateau de Pierrefonds) is located away from the main highways, there are no trains going there, there are no other attractions nearby, and you can get there if you travel from Paris by car to Lille or Brussels on the motorway A1, and even then, making a small detour.
But if the main purpose of your trip is Paris and the surrounding area, then Pierrefonds Castle can be visited by devoting half a day to this route. The train journey takes about 40 minutes and another half hour by bus. Information on how to get to Pierrefonds Castle and other useful links will, as usual, be at the end of the article, but now a little history.
Pierrefonds Castle – romantic ruins
There is nothing more boring than listing the famous owners of French castles, especially if you are not an expert in French history. And how can you not get confused here: there were only 3 Napoleons in France, and the endless series of Louises is simply driving you crazy! Therefore, I apologize in advance to lovers of historical information, but I will tell you about Pierrefonds Castle what I personally found interesting and curious.
Pierrefonds Castle was built in the 12th century, faithfully served its owners as a stronghold, survived many military operations and was destroyed by order of Cardinal Richelieu in 1617 - as a demonstrative flogging to “another balking nobleman” (Voltaire). It was not possible to demolish the castle to the ground, the structure was too powerful, but it was still possible to turn it into picturesque ruins.
Pierrefonds Castle existed in this form for more than 200 years.
In 1813, Napoleon I (the same one with whom we fought) bought the castle and the surrounding lands for 2,700 francs. He was mainly interested in the Compiègne Forest, on the edge of which there was a castle, and the possibility of placing outbuildings there. However, the emperor never got around to managing Pierrefonds: you understand, a war with Russia is a troublesome matter;).
The castle was forgotten again, abandoned and remembered only 20 years later: the “romantic ruins” attracted the attention of the next Duke of Orleans, and there, on the lawns of the Compiegne Forest, a picnic was held in honor of the wedding of his daughter.
Apparently, there really was something attractive in the majestic ruins - it’s not for nothing that Jean-Baptiste Corot repeatedly depicted them in his canvases. It is thanks to him that we can imagine what the real Pierrefonds castle looked like.
Porthos Castle
In guidebooks, Pierrefonds Castle is sometimes called "Porthos Castle". This is not true. Pierrefonds Castle is indeed described in Dumas's novels, but precisely as ruins that once belonged to the Duke of Orleans.
Past these ruins, d'Artagnan and his servant were traveling to visit Porthos, whose real name was Baron du Vallon de Brassier de Pierrefonds. In this case, “de Pierrefonds” means, translated into Russian, “Baron of Pierrefonds” or “Baron of Pierrefonds.” And the real castle of Porthos (if I can say so in relation to the fictional character) was nearby:
By the way, in France there is another Porthos castle (Chateau de Porthos), which, unlike the fictional musketeer’s castle in Pierrefonds, claims to be historically accurate. The literary character Alexandre Dumas had a real prototype - Isaac de Porto, born in the city of Pau in the Pyrenees, and served in a musketeer regiment. After finishing his service in the Royal Guard, he decided to settle near hometown in the town of Lanne-en-Baretous, where he bought himself a small castle.
Now this castle has been turned into chambre d'hôtes– a specific French version of a private hotel or guest house. The Chateau de Porthos has 4 bedrooms named after the heroes of The Three Musketeers, each with its own unique interior; photographs (there are many of them) can be viewed on booking.com. The cost of living is about 100 E per room per day. The guest house is designed for 10 residents.
Pierrefonds Castle - a Disney Dream
In 1850, Napoleon III, the nephew of the Napoleon who fought with Russia, suddenly remembered the castle (inheritance?), visited it at his leisure and began to think about whether to restore it.
There is a historical anecdote that the wife of Napoleon III incredibly liked the ruins of the castle, and when he was in deep thought about which castle he should repair (and apparently there were many castles), the empress invited the crowned husband to cast lots. Napoleon agreed and pulled out a piece of paper from his hat with the name “Pierrefonds”. The choice was made, but they say that it was thanks to the empress, who prudently wrote the word “Pierrefonds” on all the pieces of paper.
To restore the castle, on the advice of Prosper Mérimée, the architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc was invited, and in 1858 a grandiose reconstruction began, which ended 26 years later.
The fact is that Viollet-le-Duc did not consciously try to restore the historical appearance of the building, but made it what it could have been. A questionable approach, to be honest. But what’s done is done, and now in France there is an incredible number of buildings to which Viollet-le-Duc had a hand. Of the most famous: Parisian Notre Dame and the Basilica of Saint Denis, the castle, Notre Dame in Strasbourg, Chateau Pierrefonds and many more churches and castles throughout the country and even in neighboring Belgium and Switzerland.
As a result of the restoration, the Pierrefonds castle turned from a fortress into a palace, so that we now see medieval castle, but a luxurious residence of the 19th century, from the outside strongly reminiscent of the “fairytale castle” of Neuschwanstein in Germany, which became the symbol of the Walt Disney studio.
Viollet-le-Duc made a similar transformation with the Carcassonne fortress, and, frankly, both buildings, after the intervention of the great architect, produce a somewhat fake impression, although both, each in their own way, are very interesting.
Was it worth turning medieval Pierrefonds into a Disney castle? Don't know. Some insist that “honest” ruins would look much better - the spirit of history, the memory of centuries, stones that could tell a lot... While others believe that it is better to give the monument a new life than to watch its steady destruction.
And the monuments to Viola-le-Duc really live new life. The chimeras, which the architect placed on the roof of Notre Dame, became one of the symbols of Paris; a trip to Carcassonne inspired the German Klaus-Jürgen Rede to create a board game of the same name; and there is no need to talk about cinema at all - historical films are regularly shot in both Carcassonne and Pierrefonds. It’s not surprising - these castle-fortresses look the same as medieval castles look in our imaginations and in the illustrations of knightly novels. So, perhaps, Viollet-le-Duc was not so wrong.
Pierrefonds Castle, how to get there
Pierrefonds Castle(Chateau de Pierrefonds) is located in the Oise department, 80 km from Paris. You can get to it by train from Paris North Station (Gare du Nord) to the Compiegne stop, then by bus number 27 to Pierrefonds through the same Compiegne forest.
Road to Pierrefonds
In the morning I get up again at 8. Breakfast is decent without any frills and check out at 9. It was going to be quite a busy day in terms of travel. It was planned to visit the Pierrefonds castle (where the TV series Merlin is filmed), and we were supposed to spend the night in Stuttgart. There are more than 300 km to Pierrefonds, about 700 from Pierrefonds to Stuttgart. On this day, for the first (and thank God the last) time we encountered restrictions at gas stations. Diesel could only be refilled for 20 euros. I must say that we were very lucky, because... this was the beginning of the well-known strikes and a serious fuel crisis in France, and the very next day you could be left without fuel and stuck in France for a week. In France, we tried to refuel at Shell gas stations because... at that time there was a special promotion; if you filled up a certain amount of gas for two euros you could buy a model car (very good, made of iron), and since our daughter loves cars very much, we couldn’t pass by. In the end, we assembled three cars out of six :)
The road to Pierrefonds cost a pretty penny, about 30 euros. Moreover, the payment scheme was unusual at first. When exiting the autobahn on the road to Caen, there are checkpoints with barriers where there are no cashiers, and tickets are simply issued. And further on, about 100 kilometers before Paris, there are regular payment points where you give the ticket you received and see the number you hit. So this plot cost us 14 euros. Bypass tunnels near Paris cost 7.90 for some 30 km. The castle of Pierrefonds, although it was a kind of customs terminal in the Middle Ages, is located far from the main roads. Having left the highway, we made our way to it along roads similar to the paths in our parks. And in general, the forests in the castle area are more reminiscent of parkland than a forest. From time to time there were parking lots with cars. People come just to hang out. Without a navigator, finding the castle would be extremely difficult. There are a lot of crossroads and branches. All roads are similar to each other, narrow, small. But the asphalt is good.
Around 13:30 we entered the town at the foot of the castle. The city is very small. There is no organized parking; arriving cars park on the streets, in empty spaces. We park the car and head towards the castle. The road passes through a fairly large flea market. A peculiar spectacle. You come across interesting and beautiful things.
But our goal is the castle itself and we are heading towards it. I must say that on this day it was even colder when we left Caen it was -2, during the day the temperature rose to 7, but the wind was simply icy. We went up to the castle gates just at the moment when a train with tourists was leaving it.
The aunty driver stopped in front of us and began to explain something in French. We didn't really understand. And she explained everything. I can’t imagine such a picture in Russia. There is a train full of tourists, and the aunt herself stops and explains something to us for about 5 minutes, but she would have been devoured from us long ago :) In the end, she explained to us that the palace is closed for lunch from 14 to 15. How nice, they told her thank you and went walk around the castle.
Again, the absence of tourists is a wonderful opportunity to take beautiful pictures.
We walked around for half an hour and went to warm up and have lunch. The choice of places for lunch is very modest, because... the city is very small. We went to almost the only large cafe, where we met... the driver of a train (the train was parked nearby), which means a good place, - we thought and sat down at the table. The food was really tasty, although it didn’t arrive very quickly. Portions are huge as standard.
Pierrefonds Castle
After lunch we headed to the castle. There wasn't much time left, because... There was a long journey ahead. We walked around the castle for about an hour. The castle was destroyed and restored relatively recently, so there is not much of an old smell there.
In addition, almost half of the castle is closed to the public. Although even without this there is something to see.
We entered Stuttgart at 21:00. After the autobahns, driving 50 km/h on city streets was painful. We knew from various sources that to drive around the city you need an environmental plaque (UmwelPlakette), a round sticker that sticks on the windshield. The number on the plaque shows the car's emission level. The fine for driving without it is quite significant (about 40 euros) at a cost of 6 euros per plaque, but as the hotel manager assured us, they can forgive it the first time. Naturally, at 10 pm there was nowhere to buy it, but we got to the hotel calmly. At this time, the city is simply empty, it is very unusual and even somehow uncomfortable to be on the street.
Hotel in Stuttgart
We parked our cars in the hotel parking lot and went to check in. The hotel itself consists of two buildings. The rooms are not large, made in an antique style, but quite cozy. The next day was a free day in Stuttgart. Departure was scheduled for 21:00.
About the castle
Pierrefonds Castle is located in the southeastern part of the Compiegne Forest, near the cities of Compiegne and Villers-Cotterets (France).
History of the castle
Pierrefonds is included in the list of well-preserved military castles in France. The idea of its creation belongs to Louis of Orleans, son of Charles V in the 90s of the 14th century. The castle was built near the river, on a small hill, on the remains of a 12th century castle and over the past centuries a real city has emerged around Pierrefonds.
In the 12th century, the owners of the castle were the Pierrefonds of Quierzy. Only the basements have survived from it. At the end of the 12th century, Pierrefonds became the possession of King Philip Augustus.
In 1392, Pierrefonds and the Duchy of Touraine were given by Charles VI to Duke Louis of Orléans.
Pierrefonds became a new type of castle. The era of ascetic, uncompromising knights gave way; castles became not just defensive structures, but also had to instill fear in enemies with their scale and luxury. Pierrefonds became such a castle. The Hall of the Knights of the Round Table and the Hall of Heroines were equipped not only with huge fireplaces, but also with luxurious furniture, rich tapestries and paintings. Bas-reliefs with mythical monsters appeared on the walls of the castle, symbolically protecting the huge castle from enemies.
This powerful fortress, built according to the laws of medieval military architecture, was necessary for Louis. During the era of the Hundred Years' War, it was easy to arise political parties and often rebellious nobles paid with their heads on the scaffold. Louis maneuvered between everyone and could enter into alliances between France and the English and with the English against France. Fortune favored him and he became the king's regent. In 1407, fortune turned against him, and Louis d'Orléans was assassinated by a rival to the royal throne. After which a 24-year civil war began.
In 1396, a complete reconstruction of the castle began; the name of the architect is unknown, but it is assumed that it was Raymond du Temple. Later, work on the castle was led by the king's architect, Jean Le Noir, together with Jean Aubelet. Louis did not have time to see the finished castle, since construction was completed after his death.
When power passed to Louis XIII, the owner of the castle was Francois-Hannibal d'Estrée (brother of Gabriel d'Estrée). He was part of the “Discontented” party led by the Prince of Condé. In March 1617, the castle of Pierrefonds was besieged by troops sent by order of Cardinal Richelieu. The cardinal wanted the castle to be destroyed, but due to the massiveness of the structure, his plan failed - the roof and external fortifications were damaged.
The 19th century was characterized by a fascination with medieval architecture and the ruins of Pierrefonds attracted attention as a romantic getaway. In 1813, Napoleon I decided to purchase the lands on which the castle stands.
In August 1832, a wedding banquet is held at Pierrefonds Castle to celebrate the wedding of Louis-Philippe's daughter Louise and the first king of Belgium, Leopold of Saxe-Coburg.
The castle has been depicted in many famous fine art paintings, including Corot.
The future Emperor Napoleon III was very interested in archeology and visited the ruins in 1850. And in 1857, on the advice of Prosper Merimee, he decided to reconstruct the castle and turn it into his residence. Reconstruction work was carried out according to the designs of Violet-le-Duc, who had the authority of the best specialist in Renaissance architecture. He was involved in the restoration of Gothic and Romanesque architectural structures, for example, Carcassonne, Notre Dame Cathedral, Chartres Cathedral. But not everyone agreed with his methods of work and quite a few criticized him for the “wrong” approach. He rebuilt buildings according to his ideas and this often did not coincide with the previous appearance of the building. Initially, it was planned to build towers with residential premises in Pierrefonds, leaving the “picturesque” ruins untouched. Work on the castle continued until 1885, and after the death of Viollet-le-Duc in 1879, control over the project was taken over by Duke's student Urado.
Pierrefonds Castle - protective structure in the department of Oise, which was built in the fourteenth century. Currently used as a tourist gathering point. Brings enormous income to the district budget. Let's talk about this structure in more detail.
History of creation
The castle was built in the fourteenth century on the site of old ruins. Initially, in the twelfth century, an ordinary fortress was erected to protect the approaches to the region. It was she who could carry out protection, but after its looting, only the basement remained. After this, the castle was bought by the Pieophones from Chierzy. This clan owned it until the death of its main leader. After this event, in order to save the region from internecine wars, the building came under the control of Philip Augustus. It is important that the transfer meant the transition of the castle and the region from private hands to state use.
This approach made it possible, first of all, to choose a new governor who could use the Pierrefonds castle for his own purposes, while simultaneously helping the crown and carrying out its tasks. In 1392, having received the castle as a gift, Louis d'Orléans introduced the region into the County of Valois. After this, due to the expansion of the final territory, the community becomes a duchy. In 1617, the history of Pierrefonds Castle could have come to an end. The party of the dissatisfied, which was not satisfied with the actions of the authorities, decides to take extreme measures. To protect France from a popular uprising, Cardinal Richelieu and his troops attack the castle and inflict significant damage. There was a plan to demolish the entire building, but since it would have required spending a lot of resources for this purpose, it was decided to simply destroy the roof and break the partitions.
Architecture
The castle is an excellent example of the early Middle Ages. When there was no clear style, buildings were erected from a purely practical point of view. Such structures had a menacing appearance and clearly defined geometric lines. Moreover, each castle had an evacuation system.
Construction underground tunnels and their use as treatment facilities - this was a separate column in the ability to correctly implement resources. Architects spent less time planning exterior decoration. The tunnels, like all basements, were built with high quality. For this reason, it was almost impossible to simply destroy them.
Restoration
People almost forgot about Pierrefonds Castle, but history decided to do things differently. A general wave of romanticism began, when fascination with antiquity was perceived as a different stage of understanding the problem. This approach has allowed many famous personalities to show their works to the world. Romanticism reached a new stage of perception, so much so that Napoleon decided to restore Pierrefonds Castle. The reconstruction of the building began under the close attention of the architect Viollet-le-Duc.
However, many contemporaries condemned this approach. The reason was simple: the master only tried to bring his own ideas to life, without following how the castle looked originally. This style of creating buildings was interesting to many, but it did not preserve the true appearance of the castle. So many people did not understand why Pierrefonds Castle was losing its splendor; the descriptions of the buildings before and after the restoration differed significantly.
Now, in the twenty-first century, restoration occurs once every ten years. It is sponsored entirely by the Valois region; the authorities provide the necessary funds, allocating them from the budget fund.
Reaction in the world
Thanks to many buildings of the Middle Ages, which include the Pierrefonds castle, France is in first place in the number of objects of this historical period. Rich historical heritage helps to attract more and more tourists to the region. They are ready not only to monitor its development, but also to sponsor the construction of new infrastructure along the way. Many archaeological missions are sent to this region with a permanent goal: excavations, during which they sometimes discover amazing facts. For this reason, the land around Pierrefonds Castle is partially fenced. The castle itself is closed to tourist visits during excavations.
Tourism
Excursion tours to France - the main income of many provinces. The main goal is to attract the maximum number of tourists. The region exists thanks to the investments of visiting guests who are ready to sponsor the lives of ordinary residents of the province. Tours to France from Moscow can be purchased from several official distributors.
The main directions depend on the seasons. You can purchase a trip both to Paris and to the provinces. For example, Bordeaux, Provence, Normandy, Champagne. The main thing is to formulate exactly what you want and how much money you have. If a trip to Pierrefonds Castle is not included in the main route, you will need to pay additional money.
Attitude of local residents
Many indigenous residents are unhappy that their region has become a tourist destination. It so happened that the decision was rejected by local authorities for a very long time. And only after an official resolution with the personal participation of the Minister of the Interior, the transformation of France began. The main emphasis was on replacing old tourist destinations new ones that might appeal to the public. Although the decision was made, some residents of the region still do not like it. And even if we take into account that most jobs are created only thanks to the tourism business, this news has little effect on the real state of affairs. Although many families are happy to welcome tourists into their home. This is a great chance to save on hotel costs (homestays are cheaper), you can immerse yourself in the local atmosphere and learn the language.
Sights of the region
Excursion tours to France are the only way to see most of medieval castles which are under the protection of UNESCO. Next to Pierrefonds is another province - Languedoc. This is the historical region of the country with the main city of Toulouse. Small provincial towns are famous for their preserved monuments of Gallo-Roman culture: aqueducts, amphitheaters, triumphal arches and temples.
A popular fortress is Montsegur. This is the place where one of the most dramatic episodes in French history took place. A little more than fifty people (knights and ordinary soldiers) held the defense for almost a year. Afterwards the fortress fell, and the Qatari nuns and monks were burned in a field near its walls.
Many tourists go to see it memorial place and a magnificent building. It is worth noting that the income received from this is almost entirely used to restore the castles. The tourist tax “settles” in the regions, thanks to this approach it is possible to distribute finances in such a way as to restore new objects and monetize them in the future.
How to get there
How to get from Paris to Pierrefonds Castle as quickly as possible? The answer is simple. You need to buy a ticket for the city train departing in a northern direction. The final station you need is called the complex. Hotels can be found nearby, within walking distance.
As a rule, these are small houses whose owners rent apartments to tourists on a daily basis.
- You can buy a tour departing from Russian Federation or from other countries. Tours to France from Moscow are a popular destination, departures are made weekly. Break travel companies They do it in winter, since at this time the French do not receive guests due to the huge number of consecutive holidays.
- If you are planning a trip without the help of third-party agencies, it is better to immediately choose a route other than through the center of France - Paris. Travel to the province through adjacent zones. As a rule, it is better to choose a route through Europe, traveling by train or private vehicle. Otherwise, it all depends on preference.
Trip price
If you buy a tour, its cost will depend on several factors. Firstly, on the popularity of the destination. Secondly, on the number of days (whether you are going on vacation or just for the weekend). Thirdly, from additional options: meals, room category, etc. Additional expenses (already on the spot) are usually associated with the purchase of food, souvenirs, visiting attractions, purchasing excursions, etc.
If you travel on your own, your travel budget will probably be even smaller. However, you need to choose not the hot season, when tickets will cost much more, but the low season. In this case, there is a great chance to save up to 40%. Hotel accommodation and food are the main expense column for such a trip. The French authorities do not allow living in tent camps, however, if you have your own car, you can spend the night in it.
