Château de Fontainebleau

The Château de Fontainebleau is a royal château, primarily in Renaissance and classical styles, near the town centre of Fontainebleau, about sixty kilometres south-east of Paris, France. The earliest traces of a castle at Fontainebleau date back to the 12th century. The latest works were carried out in the 19th century.

A major site in French history, the Château de Fontainebleau has been one of the residences of French sovereigns from François I, who made it his favourite abode, to Napoléon III. Several kings left their mark on the construction and history of the château, which thus bears witness to the different phases of French history since the Middle Ages. Surrounded by a vast park and adjacent to the Forêt de Fontainebleau, the château comprises elements of medieval, Renaissance, and classical styles. It testifies to the encounter between Italian art and French tradition, expressed in both its architecture and its interior decorations. This specificity is explained by François I's desire to create a "new Rome" in Fontainebleau, where Italian artists could express their talent and influence French art. This is how the École de Fontainebleau was born, representing the richest period of Renaissance art in France, and inspiring French painting until the mid-17th century, and even beyond. Napoléon I thus nicknamed the château the "house of centuries", evoking the historical memories to which the place bears witness.

The château was classified as a historic monument by the list of 1862, a classification supplemented by several decrees issued in 1913, 1930, 2008, and 2009. Furthermore, since 1981, the château and its park have been part of UNESCO's World Heritage. Rich in a first-rate architectural setting, the Château de Fontainebleau also possesses one of the most important collections of antique furniture in France, and preserves an exceptional collection of paintings, sculptures, and art objects, ranging from the 6th to the 19th century.