The Château de Rambouillet (), also known in English as the Castle of Rambouillet, is a
château
A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking re ...
Yvelines
Yvelines () is a department in the western part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207.department, in the region in northern
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, southwest of
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. It was the summer residence of the
Presidents of France
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsidente ...
from 1896 until 2009, and it is now managed by the .
History
The château was originally a fortified manor dating back to 1368 and, although amputated of its eastern wing at the time of
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
, it still retains its pentagonal bastioned footprint. King Francis I died there, on 31 March 1547, probably in the imposing medieval tower that bears his name. Like the Hôtel de Rambouillet in Paris, the château was owned by Charles d'Angennes, the marquis de Rambouillet during the reign of Louis XIII. Avenues led directly from the park of the château into the adjacent game-rich forest. More than 200 square kilometres of forest remain, the remnant of the Forest of Rambouillet, also known as or .
In 1783, the château became the private property of King
Louis XVI
Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the ...
, who accompanied her husband on a visit in November 1783, is said to have exclaimed: "" ("How could I live in such a gothic toadhouse!") However, to induce his wife to like his new acquisition, Louis XVI commissioned in great secret the construction of the renowned , (the Queen's dairy), where the buckets were of Sèvres porcelain, painted and grained to imitate wood, and the presiding nymph was a marble Amalthea, with the goat that nurtured
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...
, sculpted by Pierre Julien. A little salon was attached to the dairy itself, with chairs supplied by Georges Jacob in 1787 that had straight, tapering stop-fluted legs.
During the French Revolution, the domain of Rambouillet became a ('national property'), the château being emptied of its furnishings and the gardens and surrounding park falling into neglect.
During the reign of
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
, Rambouillet was included in his (list of government-owned property at the disposal of the head of state). The Emperor came several times to Rambouillet, the last being on the night of 29–30 June 1815, on his way to exile to Saint Helena. Among the reminders of Napoléon are the Pompeian style bathroom with its small bathtub and the exquisite balcony built to link the Emperor's apartment to that of his second wife, the Empress Marie-Louise. Another reminder of Napoléon was the splendid , a double-lined bald cypress ('' Taxodium distichum'') avenue.
At the time of the Bourbon Restoration, Rambouillet was again included in the royal . Fifteen years after Napoleon I,
Charles X Charles X may refer to:
* Charles X of France (1757–1836)
* Charles X Gustav (1622–1660), King of Sweden
* Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon (1523–1590), recognized as Charles X of France but renounced the royal title
See also
*
* King Charle ...
's road to exile also started at Rambouillet. On 2 August 1830, he signed his
abdication
Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the Order of succession, succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of ...
here in favour of his nine-year-old grandson, the Duke of Bordeaux. It took twenty minutes to talk his son, Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angoulême, into, reluctantly, countersigning the document, thus abandoning his rights to the throne of
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
in favor of his nephew.
From 1830 to 1848, the domain of Rambouillet, which had belonged to his grandfather, the duke of Penthièvre, was not included in Louis Philippe I's ; however, begged to do so by the townspeople, the Emperor
Napoléon III
Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...
, who reigned from 1852 to 1870, requested its inclusion in his.
After the fall of Napoleon III in 1870, which saw the beginning of the
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic (, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940, after the Fall of France durin ...
, the domain of Rambouillet was leased from 1870 to 1883 to the duke of . In February 1896, Rambouillet received a visit from President Félix Faure who then decided to spend his summers there with his family. Since, the château of Rambouillet has become the summer residence of France's presidents of the republic, who entertain, and used to invite to hunting parties many foreign dignitaries, princes and heads of state. As a part-time residence of the French president, it is sometimes referred to as the
Palace
A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...
of Rambouillet.
On 23 August 1944, two days before the liberation of Paris, General
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...
arrived at Rambouillet and set up his headquarters in the chateau where, in the evening, he met General Philippe Leclerc who, at the head of his French 2nd Armored Division, was given its mission to liberate Paris. Part of the French 2nd Armored Division was to leave from Rambouillet at dawn the following day, on its march "to capture Paris". On August 25, around 2 p.m., "both wrought with emotion and filled with serenity", General de Gaulle left Rambouillet by car to enter "".
During the 1960s, “Foreign leaders were often put up in the magnificent surroundings of the Château de Rambouillet,” and foreign dignitaries would be invited to shoot birds there in autumn.
In November 1975, the first " G6" summit was organized in the château by French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing for the heads of the world's leading industrialized countries. Attending were:
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...
(
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
),
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...
(
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
),
Aldo Moro
Aldo Moro (; 23 September 1916 – 9 May 1978) was an Italian statesman and prominent member of Christian Democracy (Italy), Christian Democracy (DC) and its centre-left wing. He served as prime minister of Italy in five terms from December 1963 ...
(
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
),
Takeo Miki
was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, Prime Minister of Japan from 1974 to 1976.
A native of Tokushima Prefecture, Miki was educated at Meiji University and the University of Southern California. He was first elected ...
(
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
West Germany
West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
).
The Château de Rambouillet continues to be used as a venue for bilateral summits and, in February 1999, was host to the negotiations on
Kosovo
Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...
. (See Kosovo War and Rambouillet Agreement.)
On 26 December 1999, Hurricane Lothar hit the northern half of France, wreaking havoc on forests, parks and buildings. The Forest of Rambouillet lost hundreds of thousands of trees, and among the over 5,000 downed trees in the park of Rambouillet, was the handsome, historical , the bald cypress avenue planted in 1810.
References
Sources
*André Castelot, ''Charles X, La fin d'un monde'', Librairie Académique Perrin, Paris, 1988.
*Svend Eriksen, 1974. ''Early Neo-Classicism in France'', Faber & Faber, London, 1974.
*G. Lenotre, ''Le Château de Rambouillet, six siècles d'histoire'', Calmann-Lévy, Paris, 1930; new publication, Denoël, Paris, 1984.
*Françoise Winieska, ''Août 1944, la Libération de Rambouillet, France'', Société Historique et Archéologique de Rambouillet et de l'Yveline (SHARY), Rambouillet, 1999, , English version by author under the title ''August 1944, the Liberation of Rambouillet, France'', published by SHARY under same cover, .