Saint-Germain-en-Laye and Fontainebleau – Portrait des Chasteaux Royaux de Sainct Germain en Laye and Portrait de la Maison Royale de Fontaine Belleau

Palaces in 16th century France

This double-engraving from 1617 shows two royal castles.

At the left, Saint-Germain-en-Laye is the castle built under King Henri/Henry I in 1539.  The top shows the Chateau-Neuf: it would remain the principal royal palace until Versailles took over this role. his feature alone increased from 1682. The beautiful gardens were planted under Henri IV. In this residence the Treaty of Saint-Germain was signed in 1919, where the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary was dismantled in several states after WWI. Oh irony, during WWII it became the headquarters of the German Wehrmacht stationed in France.

The slightly older Fontainebleau castle is shown on the right. Under Louis VII (1120-1180) a hunting lodge was built on the spot.  Fontainebleau would only become a real palace in 1528 under King François/Francis I. Here he housed part of his art collection – including the Mona Lisa. He also went hunting in the nearby forest. Several international treaties were signed in the castle, such as the Treaty the designating Napoleon as sovereign of Elba… until his death. his death. This sovereignty lasted less than 100 days…

Both maps superbly illustrate the (royal) French garden style.