February 1, 2014: Fontainebleau!! This was one of the residences for the Kings and Queens of France used as the primary residence of the court from 1528 until 1682. According to what I read, the construction of the chateau helped bring the Renaissance to France. During the early 1800s this became the residence of Napoleon Bonaparte and his first wife Josephine as well as his second wife Maria Lousie and their children. The picture above and below show how large Fontainebleau the region is (above) and how large the chateau is (below).
This staircase was created for Louis XIII and is evident why when on the inside because it goes right to the main hall and his chambers. However this was where Napoleon took his last salute from his army after he was forced to abdicate his seat of power in 1814.
Chambers of Napoleon
Although this picture doesn't show it very well, Napoleon's army uniform was very short. I would've been almost 5 inches taller than him since he was about 5,5 and I'm about 5,10.
Napoleon's field set aka no matter where he was someone in his entourage had this so he could use proper dishes when dining at all times of the day.
Best helmet I have ever seen!! Reminds me of the feathers we would put on ladies hats in Mrs Cohen's Hat Shop in Greenfield Village! Dates to 1811
Its amazing to see how far we have come with guns and their technology. It would be so funny if a cop had a gun like this now a days.
With Napoleon's second wife, he had a son and this was his room and that was his crib;
Children's toys
painting of Fontainebleau
I really like the top painting and I never had the chance to get the artists name but it is very pretty.
Literally a room of plates, those blue circles on the walls are plates.
Now we've come to the ancient regime and where the king and queens used to live. Through the door is their chapel and the seats below are where the king and queen would sit with other members of the court. The room was a waiting room to see the King and you would see him in the next room...
This is the Francois I Gallery which was created to connect the chapel to the royal apartments. It resembles the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles or more like Versailles resembles this hallway.
The throne!
door panel
Guard Room: 15th and 16th century decorations
The best shot I could get of the entire Guard Room.
They had a mini exhibit with a lot different pieces made in the end of the 18th century.
Then there was this piece. It is a rare sugar bowl from the manufacturer Buen Retiro in Madrid during the end of the 18th century. The rest of the pieces
This had to be my favorite room in the whole place. Not only was it HUGE but it was beautiful and they had music playing like you were in the 16th century.
Where the musicians played
ceiling
heater : we have come along way from chimney to central heating and I am thankful
Private chapel called Saint Saturnine
above a staircase
the ceiling above the staircase, talk about walking from room to room in grandeur
View from the King's apartments
One of the rooms to the entrance to the King's apartments
This clock marks the separation between the two rooms before the King's private rooms. The room to the right is the beginning of the oldest part of the Chateau that dates to when it was first built in the 12th century.
So this is the room that begins the oldest part of the chateau.
The Louis XIII salon were Louis the 13th was born in 1601 before it was changed into a salon. The furniture dates to the 9th century.
This was the queen's chamber under Francois the first and was changed into a dining room under Louis the 15th and Napoleon.
The light was very dim in the rooms to follow, most likely because of the tapestries that hung from the wall dated to the 9th century.
The library! It was called the gallery of Diana because it decoration told the story of the goddess Diana.
The small salon of Marie Antoinette, I don't recall if her and the King ever stayed here during their reign however since it was a royal palace there were rooms at the ready for them.
The Grand Salon of Importance aka the queen's reception room. It was redecorated for Marie Antoinette in 1786 however wasn't used until the Empress Josephine Bonaparte came to live here with Napoleon. Only the Queen/Empress were allowed to sit on chairs with arms and the ladies sat according to rank on the stools. Those lowest wouldn't have had anywhere to sit.
Queen's bedroom: I love how these royal rooms are so huge and seem to allow more space for visitors than for the person who occupies the room.
The chair in the corner is so cute! It would be a great chair to read in during a rainy day with a fire going.
This is the top of the queen's bed. Not only is the queen's bed super tall but it also has feathers. Now there is a sign of wealth: feathers.
The throne room which was used by Napoleon.
The king's chamber: very green yet much smaller than the queen's chamber. When Napoleon lived in the chateau he used this room as his formal chamber but preferred to sleep in his office (picture below) with the smaller bed.
The new name for this room is the Abdication Room because this was where Napoleon abdicated his throne as Emperor on April 16, 1814. He signed the official document on that round table in the middle of the room.
Random chair however for those who love chairs it is a very cool color scheme.
The bodyguard room, Napoleon obviously needed security as he was emperor 13 years so this room was where his bodyguards would congregate.
Trinity Chapel used when Napoleon lived in the chateau.
view from a piece of the back of the chateau
No idea what kind of species this duck is however he is very interesting with that white nose.
Another side of the back of the chateau.
View from the gates of the chateau in the front
the gates were redecorated when Napoleon moved in with the eagles.
