The Château de Chantilly sits at the confluence of the Oise and Seine Rivers in northern France and is a magnificent stone complex surrounded by manicured lawns, farms, ponds, and stables. In 1560, architect Jean Bullant designed the 20-thousand-acre estate for a member of François I’s court, high constable Anne de Montmorency. (...)
The Château de Chantilly sits at the confluence of the Oise and Seine Rivers in northern France and is a magnificent stone complex surrounded by manicured lawns, farms, ponds, and stables. In 1560, architect Jean Bullant designed the 20-thousand-acre estate for a member of François I’s court, high constable Anne de Montmorency. A 270-acre portion of the grounds was planned by André Le Nôtre, the landscape artist for Versailles. The Condé family, cousins of Louis XV and Louis XVI, acquired the property in the late 18th century. Sauver Le Conte’s paintings of the great Condé victories (1643–1674) remain on view in the royal apartments, the Galerie des Actions de Monsieur le Prince. During the French Revolution, the Renaissance château functioned as a prison and its artwork was relocated to the Louvre. Its main wing was destroyed in 1799 and rebuilt by the last individual owner, the Duc d’Aumale, who bequeathed it to the Institut de France in 1886. The Château de Chantilly now houses the extensive collection of the Musée Condé.
