Palace of Fontainebleau

• 1. Origins And Medieval Foundations

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  In 1137, King Louis VII the Younger established a royal residence at Fontainebleau, though evidence suggests a structure may have existed earlier during the reign of Philip I. The original building was a square donjon or keep, standing three stories high and covering an area of about fifty square meters. Its lower walls measured three meters in width while upper walls narrowed to one meter, constructed from stone with windows facing north and south. A wooden palisade topped these fortifications, creating a formidable defensive perimeter around the central tower. The king resided on the middle level of this early fortress, which later became part of the Oval Court after extensive rebuilding. In 1169, Thomas Becket consecrated a chapel built by Louis VII, marking the first religious foundation within the complex. The monarch also sponsored construction of a monastery for Trinitarian monks located near the castle grounds.

• 2. Renaissance Transformation And Artistry

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  Francis I commissioned architect Gilles Le Breton to transform the modest medieval castle into a Renaissance palace beginning around 1528. He preserved the original medieval keep on one side while adding a monumental new entry called the Porte Dorée or Golden Gate in Italian Renaissance style. Between 1533 and 1539, painter Rosso Fiorentino filled the Grand Gallery with murals glorifying the king, framed in stucco ornament carved in high relief. Furniture maker Francesco Scibec da Carpi created sculpted lambris that decorated the gallery's lower walls alongside the French coat of arms and Francis I's salamander emblem surrounded by flames. Another Italian painter, Francesco Primaticcio from Bologna, joined the decoration efforts later, creating an elaborate mixture of painting and sculpture known as the first School of Fontainebleau. This artistic movement helped launch the French Renaissance through its distinctive Mannerist style featuring elongated figures and mythological allegories. In about 1540, Francis began constructing a new square of buildings around a large courtyard using land purchased from the Trinitarians order.

• 3. Evolution Under Bourbon Monarchs

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  King Henry II continued expanding the château after Francis I's death, working with architects Philibert de l'Orme and Jean Bullant to extend the east wing of the lower court. They decorated it with a horseshoe-shaped staircase that became a symbol of the château and was later enlarged. The couple transformed a loggia originally planned by Francis I into a Salle des Fêtes or grand ballroom featuring a coffered ceiling and murals by Francesco Primaticcio. Following Henry II's death in a jousting accident, his widow Catherine de' Medici took over the project through the reigns of her three sons: Francis II, Charles IX, and Henry III. She named Primaticcio superintendent of royal public works and commissioned him to design the Belle Cheminée wing noted for its elaborate chimneys and two opposing stairways. In 1565, as a security measure during the Wars of Religion, she had a moat dug around the château to protect against attack. King Henry IV made more additions than any king since Francis I, extending the oval court westward by building pavilions called Tiber and Luxembourg between 1601 and 1606.

• 4. Napoleonic Era And Imperial History

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  Napoleon chose Fontainebleau as the site of his historic 1804 meeting with Pope Pius VII who traveled from Rome to crown him emperor. Apartments were refurnished and decorated in the new Empire style while the Cour du Cheval Blanc was renamed the Cour d'Honneur or Courtyard of Honor. Between 1812 and 1814, the château served as an elegant prison for Pope Pius VII under close supervision. On the 5th of November 1810, the chapel hosted the baptism of Napoleon's nephew future Napoleon III with Napoleon serving as godfather and Empress Marie-Louise as godmother. Napoleon spent his final days at Fontainebleau before abdicating there on the 4th of April 1814 under pressure from Marshals Ney, Berthier, and Lefebvre. On the 20th of April after surviving a suicide attempt he gave an emotional farewell to soldiers of the Old Guard assembled in the Court of Honor. In his memoirs written during exile on Saint Helena he recalled: "the true residence of kings, the house of the centuries." The palace later became headquarters for NATO's Allied Forces Central Europe until 1966.

• 5. Modern Museum Status And Restoration

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  During World War II German forces occupied the château from the 16th of June 1940 until the 10th of November and again from the 15th of May to end of October 1941. Following the war part of the château became headquarters of the Western Union and later NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe until 1966. A general restoration took place between 1964 and 1968 under President Charles de Gaulle and Minister of Culture Andre Malraux. It was classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981 recognizing its unique architecture and historical importance. In 2006 the Ministry of Culture purchased royal stables and began their restoration while work started in 2007 on the theater created by Napoleon III. This project received ten million Euros funding from Abu Dhabi government and resulted in renaming the theater for Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan when inaugurated on the 30th of April 2014. On the 1st of March 2015 professional thieves stole about fifteen valuable objects including a replica crown of Siam given by Siamese government to Napoleon III during a seven-minute break-in despite alarms and video cameras.

• 6. Architectural Layout And Key Chambers

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  The Gallery of Francis I stands as one of France's finest Renaissance decoration examples begun in 1528 as a passageway between king's apartments and Trinitarian monastery chapel. Between 1533 and 1539 Italian artists decorated it with frescoes depicting mythological scenes like Ignorance Driven Out, The Unity of State, Danae, Death of Adonis, and Battle of Centaurs and Lapithes. Lower walls feature Francesco Scibec da Carpi's furniture work displaying French coat of arms and Francis I's salamander emblem surrounded by flames. Upper walls display frescoes framed in richly sculpted stucco including A Sacrifice, Royal Elephant, Burning of Catane, Nymph of Fontainebleau painted 1860-61, Sinking of Ajax, Education of Achilles, and Frustration of Venus. The Ballroom originally began as an open loggia by Francis I but King Henry II closed it around 1552 with high windows and ornate coffered ceiling transforming it into celebration space. Its decor prominently displays the letter H for Henry alongside crescent moon symbols representing his mistress Diane de Poitiers.

• 7. Landscaping And Garden Design

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  When Francis I began building the château he surrounded it with formal gardens inspired by Italian Renaissance models filled with statuary. Henry IV greatly expanded grounds between 1606 and 1609 constructing a grand canal extending 1200 meters similar to one at nearby Fleury-en-Bière. Louis XIV commissioned André Le Nôtre to create classical French formal garden featuring geometric designs paths bordered boxwood hedges colorful flowerbeds. During First Empire Napoleon I landscape architect Maximilien Joseph Hurtault created English landscape garden with winding paths picturesque groves trees. The Garden of Diana created during Henry IV's reign served as private royal garden visible from palace windows containing fountain made by Tommaso Francini master Italian fountain-maker. Bronze statue of Diana goddess hunt with young deer made by Keller brothers in 1684 copies antique Roman statue now housed Louvre. Original fountain sculpture by Barthelemy Prieur 1602 can be seen inside Gallery of Deer while hunting dog and deer sculptures around fountain made by Pierre Biard l'Aîné.