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Pierrefonds: Château de Pierrefonds Entrance Ticket
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In the heart of Haute-France, the Château de Pierrefonds is an exceptional and majestic monument, immense for its size.
Built for Prince Louis d’Orléans in the 14th century, it is an architectural masterpiece. Destroyed and then resurrected thanks to Napoleon III in 1857 by an architectural star, Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, this imperial residence became a beautiful neo-Gothic palace.
The polychrome paintings create a magical ambience where the immense 52-metre-long Preuses Hall, the chapel and, of course, the rich sculpted decoration, illustrate in an archaeological style the lordly life of the Middle Ages.
Pierrefonds Castle was founded in 1397: it was built in less than 10 years on the initiative of Louis d’Orléans, son of King Charles V and younger brother of King Charles VI. He received these Valois lands as an appanage and made this county a strategic stronghold to defend the city of Paris from Burgundian and English invasions during the Hundred Years’ War.
Over the years, after several destructive sieges, the castle was completely dismantled in the 17th century, but its ruins remained impressive. With the emergence of Romanticism and the success of Walter Scott’s work in the 19th century, the Middle Ages and medieval remains became fashionable. Seduced by the beauty of Pierrefonds, Napoleon I bought the ruins but did not have time to redevelop them. It was only with Napoleon III that the castle regained its former splendour and in 1857 the restoration was entrusted to the architect Viollet-le-Duc.
A great architect of the time, Viollet-le-Duc straightened the ramparts and forty-metre towers with the ambition of making the castle a majestic example of French architecture. Remaining faithful to the general Gothic style, the director of works unleashed all his inventiveness on certain parts of the building.
Double fences, watchtowers, loopholes, machicolations and overlapping walkways contribute to the castle’s defensive system dominated by a keep and eight mighty towers. A fantastic bestiary as well as the strangest gargoyles guard the place while walkways, porticoes and galleries make the fortress a labyrinth suitable for daydreaming.
Using his imagination to restore the rooms of Pierrefonds Castle, the architect drew inspiration from Gothic military architecture and Renaissance art. Modernity is expressed in the decorations with early Art Nouveau accents.
The castle is open from 2 May to 4 September from 9.30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and from 5 September to 30 April from 10 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., last admission one hour before closing time. The park closes 45 minutes before the castle closes.
Annual closures: 1 January, 1 May and 25 December.
Visiting Pierrefonds Castle in the Oise is like entering a fairy tale, as this enchanting place will not leave you indifferent. Indeed, Pierrefonds Castle will tickle your imagination, thanks to its medieval aesthetic heritage.
It is no coincidence that the château de Pierrefonds has been used several times as a film set: from Luc Besson ‘s Jeanne d’Arc to Christian Clavier’s Les Visiteurs to French or foreign television series such as Merlin or The Accursed Kings.
Even Michael Jackson admired it to the point of having a model made on his Californian ranch.
Once you cross the drawbridge, you will discover a court of honour of great architectural richness. It is one of the unmissable places in the castle: this courtyard, with a surface area of almost 700 m2, is a true architectural anthology. Romanesque art is juxtaposed with Renaissance, Neo-Gothic and Art Nouveau: a stark contrast to the military severity of the exterior facades.
In fact, the large main building has four levels, closed loggia, large bay windows opening onto the terrace and skylights in the roof, while the wing has only two floors: that of the guards and mercenaries’ room and that of the Preus room.
Approach the superb bronze equestrian statue representing Duke Louis of Orleans: the work of sculptor Emmanuel Fremiet, it has sat on its pedestal since 17 January 1875, while four stone chimeras give access to the grand staircase.
An emblematic room at Pierrefonds Castle is the Salle des Preuses: due to its size and decor, it is undoubtedly the castle’s flagship room.
Its vault in the shape of an inverted boat hull, its 53 metres long, 12 metres high and 10 metres wide give it the appearance of a ballroom.
At the end of this long vaulted room, nine statues stand on the mantle of a double fireplace. They represent nine ladies-in-waiting of Empress Eugenie. It also has a large panelled barrel vault. Under the Second Empire, this place served as both a reception hall and a ballroom. This room housed an exceptional collection of armour, now preserved at the Invalides.
A surprising creation by Viollet-le-Duc, the chapel is located in the heart of the Judas Maccabean tower and owes its uniqueness to the fact that it is the only religious building in France to have a gallery above the chancel.
Originally, in the castle of Louis d’Orléans, the vaults of the chapel were stretched above the apse. By raising a vast vaulted gallery above it, architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc gave the chapel more slenderness but also more clarity.
In 1951, the Palace of Versailles deposited here an extraordinary collection of a hundred original casts representing the kings and queens of France and the great princes of the kingdom, from the Middle Ages to the 17th century.
These casts come mainly from the great necropolises: the funerary statues were made in plaster at the request of King Louis-Philippe who, from 1833, decided to create a stone gallery within the Museum of French History at Versailles.
The set design, by Skertzò, proposes a spectacular discovery of the works in the unique setting of the castle cellars, magnificently restored by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.
Entitled Le bal des Recumbents, this contemporary arrangement is a walk through history, alternately lulled by changing lights, projections and whispered poems. The scenography was completed by a lighting fixture that accompanies the descent to the cellars in a splendid staircase, a true Piranesian decoration.
Pierrefonds Castle is located about 90 km from Paris. After hiring a car directly at Paris Charles de GaulleAirport or Paris Orly Airport, you can reach the château in about 1 to 1½ hours.
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