| Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye | |
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 Interactive map of Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye | |
| General information | |
| Location | Saint-Germain-en-Laye,France |
| Construction started | 1124; 901 years ago (1124) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Pierre Chambiges |
TheChâteau de Saint-Germain-en-Laye (French pronunciation:[ʃɑtod(ə)sɛ̃ʒɛʁmɛ̃ɑ̃lɛ]) is a formerroyal palace in thecommune ofSaint-Germain-en-Laye, in thedepartment ofYvelines, about 19 km west ofParis, France. Today, it houses theMusée d'Archéologie nationale (National Museum of Archaeology).
The firstcastle, named theGrand Châtelet, was built on the site byLouis VI in 1124. The castle was expanded byLouis IX in the 1230s.
The Saint Louis chapel at the castle belongs to theRayonnant phase ofFrench Gothic architecture. A 1238 charter of Louis IX instituting a regular religious service at the chapel is the first mention of a chapel having been built at the royal castle. This was aSainte Chapelle, to house a relic of theCrown of Thorns or theTrue Cross. Its plan and architecture prefigure the majorSainte-Chapelle which Louis built within thePalais de la Cité atParis between 1240 and 1248. Both buildings were built by Louis's favourite architectPierre de Montreuil, who adapted the architectural formulae invented at Saint Germain for use in Paris. A single nave ends in achevet, with almost all the wall areas filled by tall narrow glass windows, between which are large exteriorbuttresses. Theogives of the vault rest on columns between the bays and the column bases are placed behind a low isolated arcade. The building can thus be open and empty of all internal supports. This large number of windows is also enabled by thepierre armée technique, with metal elements built into the structure of the walls to ensure the stones' stability. The west wall is adorned by a large Gothicrose window in theRayonnant Gothic style. It was in this chapel in 1238 thatBaldwin II of Constantinople presented Louis with therelic of the crown of thorns and, though they were intended for the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, they were housed here until the Paris chapel was consecrated in April 1248.
The castle was burned byEdward the Black Prince in 1346; of it, only theGothic chapel remains from the site's medieval phase. ThisChâteau Vieux was rebuilt byCharles V in the 1360s on the old foundations.
The oldest parts of the current château were reconstructed byFrancis I in 1539, and have subsequently been expanded several times. On 10 July 1547 a political rivalry came to a head in a legalduel here. Against the odds,Guy I de Chabot, 7th baron deJarnac triumphed overFrançois de Vivonne, seigneur de la Chasteigneraie, who died the next day after what was called "coup de Jarnac".[1] In September 1548, rooms above the royal suite were refurbished forMary, Queen of Scots and the children ofHenry II of France.[2]
Henry II built a separatenew château nearby, to designs byPhilibert de l'Orme. It stood at the crest of a slope, which was shaped, under the direction ofÉtienne du Pérac[3] into three massive descending terraces and narrower subsidiary mediating terraces, which were linked by divided symmetrical stairs and ramps and extended a single axis that finished at the edge of theSeine; the design took many cues from theVilla Lante atBagnaia.[4] "Étienne du Pérac had spent a long time in Italy, and one manifestation of his interest in gardens of this type is his well-known view of theVilla d'Este, engraved in 1573."[5]
The gardens laid out at Saint-Germain-en-Laye were among a half-dozen gardens introducing theItalian garden style to France that laid the groundwork for theFrench formal garden. Unlike theparterres that were laid out in casual relation to existing châteaux, often on difficult sites originally selected for defensive reasons,[6]these new gardens extended the central axis of a symmetrical building façade in rigorously symmetrical axial designs of patterned parterres, gravel walks, fountains and basins, and formally plantedbosquets; they began the tradition that reached its apex after 1650 in the gardens ofAndré Le Nôtre.[7] According toClaude Mollet'sThéâtre des plans et jardinage[8] the parterres were laid out in 1595 forHenry IV byClaude Mollet, trained at Anet and the progenitor of a dynasty of royal gardeners. One of the parterre designs by Mollet at Saint-Germain-en-Laye was illustrated inOlivier de Serres'Le théâtre d'agriculture et mesnage des champs (1600), but theChâteau Neuf and the whole of its spectacular series of terraces can be fully seen in an engraving afterAlexandre Francini, 1614.[9]
Louis XIV was born at the Château Neuf in 1638. One of du Pérac's retaining walls collapsed in 1660, and Louis undertook a renovation of the gardens in 1662. At his majority he established his court here in 1666, but he preferred theChâteau Vieux: theChâteau Neuf was abandoned in the 1660s and demolished. From 1663 until 1682, when the King removed definitively toVersailles, the team that he inherited from the unfortunateNicolas Fouquet—Louis Le Vau,Jules Hardouin-Mansart andAndré Le Nôtre laboured to give the ancient pile a more suitable aspect.
The gardens were remade by André Le Nôtre from 1669 to 1673, and include a 2.4 kilometre long stone terrace which provides a view over the valley of theSeine and, in the distance, Paris.
Louis XIV turned the château over to KingJames II of England after his exile from Britain in theGlorious Revolution of 1688. King James lived in the château for thirteen years, and his daughterLouise-Marie Stuart was born in exile here in 1692. King James lies buried in the nearby Church ofSaint-Germain; his wifeMary of Modena remained at the château until her death in 1718. Their sonJames left the château in 1716, ultimately settling in Rome. ManyJacobites—supporters of the exiled Stuarts—remained at the château until theFrench Revolution, leaving in 1793. The Jacobites often consisted of former members of the Jacobite court, and the apartments left empty in the château by the Jacobite court pensioners upon their death, were often passed down to their widows and children by the caretaker of the château,Adrien Maurice de Noailles, 3rd Duke of Noailles.[10] The Jacobite colony at Saint-Germain was still dominant in the 1750s, when they were however treated with increasing hostility. After the death of the Duke of Noailles in 1766, who had been responsible for the continuing Jacobite dominance because of his preference to give rooms to Jacobites, the British dominance quickly decreased and more French inhabitants were given lodgings in the château: the last member of the Stuart court was Theresa O'Connel, who died in 1778.[10] The last descendants of the British Jacobites, by then mostly bearing French names, were evicted when the building was confiscated by the government during the French revolution in 1793.[10]
In the 19th century,Napoleon I established his cavalry officers' training school here.Napoleon III initiated restoration of the castle byEugène Millet, starting in 1862. It became theMusée des Antiquités Nationales (National Museum of Antiquities) in 1867, displaying the archeological objects of France.[citation needed]Auguste Lafollye took over responsibility for the restoration on Millet's death in 1879, continuing until 1889. His goal, and that of his successorHonoré Daumet, was to restore the French Renaissance style ofFrancis I.[11]
On September 10, 1919 theTreaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, ending hostilities between theAllies of World War I andAustria, was signed at the château.[12]
During theGerman occupation (1940–44), the château served as the headquarters of the German Army in France.
The museum was renamed theMusée d'Archéologie Nationale in 2005.[13] Its collections include finds fromPaleolithic toMerovingian times.
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48°53′53″N2°05′47″E / 48.89806°N 2.09639°E /48.89806; 2.09639
