Mentenon Castle

Maintenon Castle is located in the southeastern part of the city of the same name, 15 km northeast of Chartres. The construction of the castle lasted from the 12th to the 17th century. At the beginning of the 16th century, the treasurer of Louis XII, Jean Cotterot, who owned the castle, turned the medieval fortress into a Renaissance chateau, and in the 17th century the famous Madame de Maintenon completed the residential wing. She acquired the castle in 1675 with funds donated to her by the king. During the restoration of the castle, the interior was recreated in the style of the 17th century. Of interest, in particular, are two salons decorated in the style of "chinoiserie" ("Chinese style"), the "royal bedroom" in which Louis XIV stayed while visiting his secret wife, a billiard room of the 19th century, a library in the style of Napoleon III , a portrait gallery, a former hall of the guards, decorated with wood paneling and Cordoba leather. In addition to an architectural masterpiece in the Middle Ages-Renaissance style, the Mentenon estate is famous for one of the famous aqueducts in France, as well as for its à la française park with the monogram of Louis XIV in the center - two intertwined letters L. In 1983, the descendants of Madame Maintenon transferred the right to ownership of the estate of the Association of the City of Maintenon, and subsequently, in 2005, the General Council of the Department of Ayr-et-Loire.