"Vaux-le-Vicomte chateau" a Maincy Travel Page by pedmar

The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte is a baroque French chateau located in Maincy, near Melun, 55 km southeast of Paris in the Seine-et-Marne département of France. It was built from 1658 to 1661 for Nicolas Fouquet, Marquis de Belle-Isle (Belle-Ile-en-Mer), Viscount of Melun and Vaux, the superintendent of finances of Louis XIV.

Vaux-le-Vicomte was in many ways the most influential work built in Europe in the mid-17th century, the most elaborate and grand house built in France after the Château de Maisons. Here, the architect Louis Le Vau, the landscape architect André le Nôtre, and the painter-decorator Charles Le Brun worked together on a large-scale project for the first time.
Fouquet was an avid patron of the arts and attracted many artists with the gifts and encouragements he poured out on them. A few of those artists were Le Nôtre, Le Brun, and Molière.

When Fouquet became King Louis XIV's superintendent of finances (Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry (France)) in 1657, he commissioned the architect Louis Le Vau, the painter-decorator Charles Le Brun and the landscape architect André Le Nôtre to renovate his estate and garden to match his grand ambition.
For the construction of Vaux Le Vicomte’s garden, as well as its castle, Fouquet purchased three villages and demolished them in order to provide enough ground for the elaborate plan. It was said to have employed eighteen thousand workers and cost as much as sixteen million livres (equivalent to 64 million US dollars).

The château and its patron became for a short time a great center of fine feasts, literature and arts. The poet La Fontaine and the playwright Molière were among the artists close to Fouquet. In the inauguration of Fouquet's Vaux-le-Vicomte, a Molière play was performed, along with a dinner event, organized by François Vatel, and showing an impressive firework show.

The King had Fouquet arrested shortly after a famous fête that took place on 17 August 1661, with Molière's play 'Les Fâcheux'. The celebration had been too impressive and the superintendent's home too luxurious. Jean-Baptiste Colbert had led the king to believe that his minister's magnificence was funded by the misappropriation of public funds. Colbert, who then replaced Fouquet as superintendent of finances, arrested him, under custody was D'Artagnan captain of the kings muskeeteers!

After Nicolas Fouquet was arrested and imprisoned for life, and his wife exiled, Vaux-le-Vicomte was placed under sequestration (sequestration (law)). The King seized, confiscated, and occasionally purchased 120 tapestries, the statues, and all the orange trees from Vaux Le Vicomte. He then sent the team of artists (Le Vau, Le Nôtre and Le Brun) to design what would be a much larger project than Vaux Le Vicomte, the palace and gardens of Versailles.

Madame Fouquet recovered her property ten years later and retired there with her eldest son. In 1705, after the death of her husband and son, she decided to put Vaux Le Vicomte up for sale
The Maréchal de Villars became the new owner although he had never even set eyes on the place. In 1764 the Maréchal's son sold the estate to the Duke of Praslin, whose descendants would maintain the property for over a century.

In 1875, after thirty years of neglect, the estate was sold to Alfred Sommier in a public auction. The château was empty, some of the outbuildings had fallen into ruin, and the famous gardens were totally overgrown. The huge task of restoration and refurbishment began under the direction of the renowned architect Gabriel-Hippolyte Destailleur. When Sommier died in 1908, the château and the gardens had recovered their original appearance. His son, Edme Sommier, and his daughter-in-law completed the task. Today, his descendants continue to work on the preservation of Vaux Le Vicomte. The château remains a private property — owned by the comte de Vogüé — but, designated by the state as a monument historique, it welcomes visitors.

the place its an absolute MUST!!! run over to see!!

you can get rides in summer in hot air balloons to take beautiful pictures and a lot of fun. inquiry at the Chateau

there are done by Le Notre, no need to tell you further, this is a must to see,you can have horse carriage rides,the ground are kept just great!