Château de Chantilly
Brief History
Located 30 minutes north of Paris, this extravagant hunting palace is an easy day trip from Paris. The “Petit Château”, which is now the oldest part of Chantilly, was originally built around 1560 by the Montmorency family. In the 17th century, the mansion and surrounding property were transferred into the hands of the Bourbon-Condé family. Over the next two centuries, the Condé family made a series of additions to the property including the addition of the Great Stables in the 18th century and the creation of the English garden in the 19th century.
The Château was ultimately destroyed during the French Revolution in 1799. In 1830, Louis VI Henri de Bourbon-Condé, had no heir and bequeathed the Chantilly estate to Henri d’Orléans, Duke of Aumale, the fifth son of King Louis-Phillip. The Duke of Aumale, who was considered to be one of the greatest collectors of art in his time, rebuilt Chantilly in the 1870s and used the Château as a way to showcase his art and book collection. At the time of his death in 1897, the Duke of Aumale had bequeathed the palace to the Institut de France.
Things I Liked:
The Great Stables– These were quite impressive. When I arrived on the Chantilly estate, I thought that the Great Stables was actually the Château. It was not until I had bought my ticket, entered the Great Stables, and was immediately hit with the smell of horse manure when I realized that I was not in the Château.
Built in the 18th century by Louis-Henri, Prince de Bourbon-Condé, the Great Stables once housed 240 horses and 500 dogs. It is rumored that Louis-Henri believed that he would reincarnate as a horse, thus the reason he built a palace for horses. Today, the Great Stables still house several horses that participate in the horse shows for Chantilly visitors. In the Great Stables, there is also a fascinating museum on the history of horses for any horse lovers out there.
Musée Condé- This is a series of rooms that showcase the impressive painting collection of Henri d’Orléans. His collection includes paintings by Raphael, Titian, and Eugene Delacroix. It is the 2nd largest antique painting collection in France after the Louvre.
The Library – This was my favorite room in the Château. The library houses 700 manuscripts and 30,000 books including the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry (15th century) and a Gutenberg Bible.
