About an hour from Paris, is the Palace of Fontaintebleau. Originally at the site—dating back to the twelfth century—was a royal hunting lodge. The royal palace construction began in the sixteenth century. Inside, the palace boasts great artwork; outside, complex patterned gardens. According to UNESCO, Fontainebleau “has retained the imprint of every reign and every style: Henri IV, Louis XIII, Louis XV and Louis XVI. . . ."
Today, the chateau is a popular place for visitors to explore. I read that if you walk the gardens too long and become too exhausted, a horse drawn carriage may just give you a tour back to the chateau where peacocks freely roam the grounds. It sounds like quite the adventure. . . .
Today, the chateau is a popular place for visitors to explore. I read that if you walk the gardens too long and become too exhausted, a horse drawn carriage may just give you a tour back to the chateau where peacocks freely roam the grounds. It sounds like quite the adventure. . . .
But what brings me to the Fontainebleau today is not the grounds. Rather, here I seek—the Library, which I have added to my “bucket list” (of libraries I would like to see one day). Photos of the library show massive globes that run down the center aisle of the room. Unfortunately, while I found a great deal of information about the Palace itself, there does not appear to be much information available about the works housed in this library—if indeed any remain today.
I did locate one truly excellent article about Fontainebleau that covers works held in the library from days gone by. See: http://writingren.blogspot.com/2012/07/a-king-and-his-books-libraries-of.html. Beyond that, does anyone know whether this library still houses works and if so, how many and covering what general subject areas? I would be curious to know.
I did locate one truly excellent article about Fontainebleau that covers works held in the library from days gone by. See: http://writingren.blogspot.com/2012/07/a-king-and-his-books-libraries-of.html. Beyond that, does anyone know whether this library still houses works and if so, how many and covering what general subject areas? I would be curious to know.
