Château de Rambouillet facts for kids
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The Château de Rambouillet is a beautiful old castle in France. It's located in the town of Rambouillet, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of Paris. For many years, from 1896 to 2009, it was the summer home for the Presidents of France. Today, a special group called the Centre des monuments nationaux takes care of it.
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A Look Back: The Castle's History
The Château de Rambouillet has a long and interesting past. It started as a strong, fortified manor house way back in 1368. Even though a part of it was removed during Napoleon's time, it still looks like a five-sided fort.
Early Royal Connections
King Francis I died at the château on March 31, 1547. He likely passed away in the tall, old tower that is now named after him. Later, the château belonged to Charles d'Angennes, the marquis de Rambouillet. The castle's park had paths that led right into the nearby forest, which was full of animals for hunting. Today, over 200 square kilometers (about 77 square miles) of this forest still remain. It's known as the Forest of Rambouillet.
King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette
In 1783, King Louis XVI bought the château. He wanted it to be an extension of his hunting grounds. His wife, Queen Marie Antoinette, visited with him. She wasn't very impressed, supposedly saying, "How could I live in such a gothic toadhouse!"
To make her happy, Louis XVI secretly built a special place for her. It was called the Laiterie de la Reine, which means the Queen's dairy. Here, the milk buckets were made of fancy Sèvres porcelain that looked like wood. There was also a beautiful marble statue of Amalthea, a nymph from Greek myths, with the goat that cared for Jupiter.
Changes During the French Revolution
During the French Revolution, the Château de Rambouillet became national property. This meant it belonged to the government. Its furniture was taken away, and the gardens and park were not looked after for a while.
Napoleon's Visits and Legacy
When Napoleon I was Emperor, the château became part of his official properties. Napoleon visited Rambouillet several times. His last visit was on June 29-30, 1815, just before he went into exile on Saint Helena.
You can still see reminders of Napoleon at the château. There's a bathroom in the Roman style with a small bathtub. There's also a lovely balcony that connected the Emperor's apartment to his second wife's, Empress Marie-Louise. Another lasting reminder is the beautiful Allée de Cyprès chauves de Louisiane. This was a double row of bald cypress trees that Napoleon had planted.
Royal Abdication at Rambouillet
After Napoleon, the château again became royal property. Fifteen years after Napoleon's exile, King Charles X also started his journey to exile from Rambouillet. On August 2, 1830, he signed a paper giving up his throne here. He did this for his nine-year-old grandson, the Duke of Bordeaux. It took him twenty minutes to convince his son, Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angoulême, to also sign, giving up his own rights to the throne.
From Royalty to Presidents
From 1830 to 1848, the château was not part of the royal properties. However, Emperor Napoléon III, who ruled from 1852 to 1870, asked for it to be included again. He did this because the people of the town asked him to.
After Napoleon III's rule ended in 1870, France became a republic. The château was rented out for a while. Then, in February 1896, President Félix Faure visited Rambouillet. He decided to make it the summer home for France's presidents and their families.
Since then, the Château de Rambouillet has been the summer residence for the Presidents of France. They would entertain important guests, like foreign leaders and princes, and often invited them for hunting parties. Because it's a part-time home for the French president, it's sometimes called the Palace of Rambouillet.
World War II and Important Meetings
On August 23, 1944, just two days before Paris was freed from occupation, General Charles de Gaulle arrived at Rambouillet. He set up his headquarters in the château. That evening, he met General Philippe Leclerc. General Leclerc was given the mission to free Paris with his French 2nd Armored Division. Part of his division left Rambouillet at dawn the next day to march on Paris. On August 25, General de Gaulle left Rambouillet to enter a "liberated Paris."
In the 1960s, foreign leaders often stayed at the beautiful Château de Rambouillet. They were also invited to hunt birds there in the autumn.
In November 1975, the first "G6" summit was held at the château. This was a meeting organized by French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing for the leaders of the world's most powerful industrial countries. Leaders from the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, and West Germany attended.
The Château de Rambouillet is still used for important meetings between countries. In February 1999, it hosted negotiations about Kosovo. (You can learn more about this in the Kosovo War and Rambouillet Agreement articles.)
The Great Storm of 1999
On December 26, 1999, a very strong storm called Hurricane Lothar hit the northern part of France. It caused a lot of damage to forests, parks, and buildings. The Forest of Rambouillet lost hundreds of thousands of trees. In the park of Rambouillet, over five thousand trees were blown down. This included the historic Allée de Cyprès chauves de Louisiane, the bald cypress avenue that was planted in 1810.
