Maintenon

The history of the Château de Maintenon is closely linked to the woman who was the secret wife of Louis XIV, Françoise d'Aubigné. In 1674, she bought this “large castle at the end of a large village”, as she described it in a letter to her brother, whom the king shortly after promoted to marquis. Mentioned as early as 1108, the lordship of Maintenon is linked to the construction of a keep ensuring the protection of the region located between Rambouillet and Chartres. At the beginning of the 16^th century, the castle was enlarged by Jean Cottereau, superintendent of finances for Kings Louis XII, François I and Henri II. Madame de Maintenon added a gallery and a wing in which she installed her apartments. Flowerbeds were designed by Le Nôtre on both sides of the Eure. At the bottom of the valley, an aqueduct that Louis XIV had built by Vauban to supply water to the basins of Versailles was never completed. In 1719, on the death of the Marquise, the estate passed to her niece the Duchess of Noailles. Kept in the family, the castle is today managed by a foundation.

23 x 28.5 cm

160 pages

160 black and white and color illustrations

ISBN: 978-2-9092-8366-1

Text in French only