Château-Neuf de Saint-Germain-en-Laye

The Château-Neuf de Saint-Germain-en-Laye ("New Château of Saint-Germain-en-Laye") was a French château in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, now mostly demolished, which served as a royal residence from the second half of the 16th century until 1680. It was built on the grounds of the older Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, which became known as the Château-Vieux (Old Château).

Construction

The central building, on the edge of the terrace, was ordered in 1556 by Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici and was built by Philibert de l'Orme. Called in its day la maison du théâtre (the theater house), a succession of terraces and stairs gave access to the baignerie (from French baigner, "to bathe") on the Seine.

From the beginning of his reign in 1593, King Henry IV would come to Saint-Germain because he took pleasure in the view the château and its terraces offered of the valley of the Seine, a view like that of his birthplace, the Château de Pau. He ordered from Baptiste Androuet du Cerceau an expansion of the terraces by the Seine. Work began in 1594.

Quickly finished by executive architect Jean de Fourcy, with Guillaume Marchant conducting the masonry work, the job involved the installation of grottoes, with automated fountains made by Italians, the Francini brothers, Thomas and Alexandre. The French garden, spread out by the Seine on five terraces, was designed by landscape designer Étienne Dupérac and by gardener Claude Mollet.

History

At the outset, the château was the dwelling of those who had it built: Henry II, who died in 1559 (from a lance wound received in a tournament in Paris, three years after the château was begun); and, above all, his wife, Catherine de' Medici.