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What is special about the Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte?

What is special about the Château Vaux-le-Vicomte?

The strong lines and nobility of the garden design, its changing vistas and hidden charms, and the symphony of fountains… All combine with theatrical majesty to make Vaux-le-Vicomte a masterpiece of the French Formal Garden.

Why was Chateau de Vaux le Vicomte built?

Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte. Vaux-le-Vicomte is a French château, 6 km north-east of Melun, in the département of Seine-et-Marne. It was built between 1656 and 1661 for by Louis Le Vau for Nicolas Fouquet, Louis XIV’s Surintendant des Finances. The gardens were laid out by André Le Nôtre under Le Vau’s guidance.

How big is Vaux-le-Vicomte?

Carved from 33 hectares (100 acres) of woodlands, the formal gardens were laid out along a three-kilometer axis to create a stunning setting for the château and its outbuildings.

What happens at Château Vaux-le-Vicomte during a usual Easter?

Château de Vaux le Vicomte’s Easter hunt is one of the best in Île-de-France. Every year, for Easter weekend, the teams of the private castle bend over backwards to make children have fun and challenge older children with over 90,000 chocolates hidden in the 33-hectare landscaped garden.

Who created Vaux le Vicomte?

Louis Le Vau
Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte/Architects

Who owns Vaux le Vicomte today?

the Vogüé
The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, greatest Historical Monument in France, is currently owned by the Vogüé. The domain has been in their family for 5 generations.

What is the meaning of VAUX?

French, English, and Scottish: habitational name from any of various places in northern France called Vaux, from the Old French plural of val ‘valley’.

What is the meaning of Vicomte?

The definition of a vicomte is a French nobleperson, ranked just above a baron, which is comparable to a British viscount. An example of a vicomte is François-René de Chateaubriand, the vicomte de Chateaubriand who is considered the founder of Romanticism in French literature. noun.

When did Louis XIV build the Vaux le Vicomte?

Vaux-le-Vicomte. Vaux-le-Vicomte, château near Melun, France, designed in 1656 by Louis Le Vau for Nicolas Fouquet, who was finance minister to King Louis XIV. The château, finished in 1661, is considered to be one of the masterpieces of French Baroque residential architecture. The exquisite interior decoration was supervised by…

How big are the formal gardens at Chateau de Vicomte?

Carved from 33 hectares (100 acres) of woodlands, the formal gardens were laid out along a three-kilometer axis to create a stunning setting for the château and its outbuildings.

What did Louis Le Vau do in the 17th century?

Working in close collaboration, Le Nôtre and the architect Louis Le Vau produced the greatest 17th century example of near perfect harmony between nature and the built environment. Together, the three artists benefited from Fouquet’s absolute faith in them, and were given a bare landscape to work with.

Why was Louis XIV interested in Fouquet?

Fouquet was hoping to succeed Mazarin, Louis XIV’s powerful prime minister who had just died. Fouquet was rich, had power and connections. His ambitious motto Quo non ascendam? (what heights will I not scale?) seemed congruent with his character and his need to dazzle with his life style.

How much did it cost to build Vaux-le-Vicomte?

It was said to have employed 18 thousand workers and cost as much as 16 million livres. The château and its patron became for a short time a focus for fine feasts, literature and arts. The fabulist and poet Jean de La Fontaine and the playwright Molière were among the artists close to Fouquet.

Who owns Vaux-le-Vicomte?

What happens at Château Vaux le Vicomte during a usual Easter?

Who was Vaux le Vicomte built for?

Louis Le VauChâteau de Vaux-le-Vicomte / Architect
Built between 1656 and 1661 for Nicolas Fouquet, who was the keeper of finances for King Louis XIV, it was a unique creation at the time. Fouquet commissioned a top architect, Louis Le Vau; an artist, Charles Le Brun; and a landscape architect, André Le Notre, to work together on the project.

Who built Vaux le Vicomte?

What happened to Nicholas Fouquet?

There was a problem though. Louis XIV was still a young monarch – at 22 years – and not only was Fouquet very wealthy, he also controlled the tax collectors. If they turned against the King the income needed to run not only the court but the very country would be threatened. Still, Louis would not allow this to go on.

Louis Le VauChâteau de Vaux-le-Vicomte / Architect

When was Château de Vaux le Vicomte built?

1656Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte / Founded
Vaux-le-Vicomte, château near Melun, France, designed in 1656 by Louis Le Vau for Nicolas Fouquet, who was finance minister to King Louis XIV. The château, finished in 1661, is considered to be one of the masterpieces of French Baroque residential architecture.

Where is the chateau of Vaux le Vicomte?

Rhythmic massing of the entrance front. The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte is a baroque French château located in Maincy, near Melun, 55 kilometres (34 mi) southeast of Paris in the Seine-et-Marne département of France.

Who was the landscape architect for Vaux le Vicomte?

“Vaux-le-Vicomte was the first time that a landscape designer oversaw the entire project—the gardens, the fountains, the water, everything. Le Nôtre was given carte blanche.

When is Vaux le Vicomte open for the season?

Vaux-le-Vicomte is open through November 11, and during the Christmas season. On Saturdays from May to October, there are candlelight tours of the château and gardens, with dinner on the Terrace de Diane by reservation, and fireworks.

When was Vaux le Vicomte purchased by Nicolas Fouquet?

The garden’s pronounced visual axis is an example of this style. Once a small château between the royal residences of Vincennes and Fontainebleau, the estate of Vaux-le-Vicomte was purchased in 1641 by Nicolas Fouquet, an ambitious 26-year-old member of the Parlement of Paris.

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Ruth Doyle