Chateau Fort de Pierrefonds
Located near Compeigne, the Chateau Fort de Pierrefonds seems to embody everything that medieval castle should be as it looms over the village crouching at its feet. For the most part, however, it is a creation of the 19th century.
Pierrefonds was part of the Duchy of Valois, and its castle, whose origins go back as far as Carolingian times, was rebuilt in the middle of the Hundred Years War by Louis of Orleans, the brother of Charles VI, as part of a chain of defenses between the rivers Oise and Ourcq. It was dismantled during the reign of Louis XIII. In 1857 Louis Napoleon commisioned Viollet-le-Duc to restore the keep; four years later he was entrusted with a complete rebuilding of the castle for use as an Imperial residence and a picturesque place for receptions given to entertain the Emporer's guests at Compiegne.
Chateau Fort de Pierrefonds
Located near Compeigne, the Chateau Fort de Pierrefonds seems to embody everything that medieval castle should be as it looms over the village crouching at its feet. For the most part, however, it is a creation of the 19th century.
Pierrefonds was part of the Duchy of Valois, and its castle, whose origins go back as far as Carolingian times, was rebuilt in the middle of the Hundred Years War by Louis of Orleans, the brother of Charles VI, as part of a chain of defenses between the rivers Oise and Ourcq. It was dismantled during the reign of Louis XIII. In 1857 Louis Napoleon commisioned Viollet-le-Duc to restore the keep; four years later he was entrusted with a complete rebuilding of the castle for use as an Imperial residence and a picturesque place for receptions given to entertain the Emporer's guests at Compiegne.