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Dumas who wrote here his "Three Musketeers"
(see the complete novel on http://www.hoboes.com/html/FireBlade/Dumas/Musketeers/
and the "Count of Monte-Cristo", and Offenbach wrote "La Fille du Tambour-major".
The SAINTE-CHAPELLE was built under the reign of Saint Louis between 1230 and 1238, a few years before the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris.
If you want to wander around in the forest, please do. Its ancient aspect is maintained thanks to the old portals, hunting pavilions, large forest paths and a great variety of tree species. 120 km of hike trails and 60 km of cavalier trails.
In last article we saw how the chateau neuf of Saint-Germain en Laye was one of Louis XIV favourite residences. He hated the chateau vieux, too small, and preferred the 5 new pavilions he asked Hardouin-Mansart to build for him to replace the angle turrets of the façade. In 1682 he leaves the chateau for the luxury of Versailles. Successive owners will follow: the maréchal Louis de Noailles, who will parcel the domain and make it the most snobbish and trendy area around Paris (for the very wealthy). At the end of the 18th century, the chateau is so degraded that it is demolished. Only the Henri IV pavilion and Sully pavilion will survive.
Empty, the chateau will house different people and have several uses: under Napoleon I it is a cavalry school, under Louis Philippe, a military prison. Napoleon III will restore it. The edifice regains the look it had under the rule of François 1er.
Some historical moments took place in the chateau: the peace treaty with Austria In 1919, leading to the dismemberment of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and during the German occupation from 1940 to 1944, the town was the German Army Headquarters. Finally the S.H.A.P.E. was established here in 1947, creating an international complex, which is still bustling with life today.
Your visit starts at the place due chateau, just outside the exit of the RER. To have a good idea and enjoy the flower beds and gardens, enter through the grate on the place Charles de Gaulle, and walk along the chateau. Be sure to wander along the garden terrace. The PAVILLON HENRI IV, with pavillon Sully, the only remnant of the chateau neuf before restoration, is here. Inside you can see the Louis XIII Oratory, where Louis XIV was baptized in 1638. Today it is a hotel, located in this illustrious place since 1836A lot of great diplomatic and literature figures came here for their inspiration like Alexander
Bibliography
The Lives of the Kings and Queens of France, by De Castries- Epitaph for Kings, by Sanche de Gramont- De Saint-Germain en Laye á Marne-la-Vallée, by Claude Bordas- La Cour des Stuarts á Saint-Germain-en-Laye au temps de Louis XIV , by J. Lepoirier-Saint-germain-en-Laye1800-1940, by J. Poteau
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