A château (French for castle; plural châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of gentry, usually French, with or without fortifications. The urban counterpart of "château" is palais (palace). The Alcázar of Segovia, Spain A castle (from the Latin castellum, diminutive of castra, a military camp, in turn the plural of castrum or watchpost), is a fort, a camp and the logical development of a fortified enclosure. ... For the area of Sheffield, in England, see Manor, Sheffield. ... In England, Lord of the Manor is a minor, feudal title. ... The quintessential medieval European palace: Palais de la Cité, in Paris, the royal palace of France. ...

The concept

If a château is not old, then it must be grand. A château is a "power house" as Sir John Summerson dubbed the English (and Georgian Irish) "Stately homes" that are social counterparts of châteaux. It is the personal (and hopefully hereditary) badge of a family that represents the royal authority at some rank, locally. Thus this word is often used to refer to a residence of a member of the French royalty or the nobility, but some fine châteaux, such as Vaux-le-Vicomte were built by the essentially high bourgeois, but recently ennobled, tax-farmers and ministers of Louis XIII and his successors. Sir John Newenham Summerson (1904-1902) was one of the leading British architectural historians of the 20th century. ... A stately home is, strictly speaking, one of about 500 large properties built in England between the mid-16th century and the early part of the 20th century, as well as converted abbeys and other church property (after the Dissolution of the Monasteries). ... Vaux-le-vicomte was in many ways the most important work built before Louis XIV came to power. ... Bourgeois at the end of the thirteenth century. ... Louis XIII (September 27, 1601 – May 14, 1643), called the Just (French: le Juste), was King of France from 1610 to 1643. ...

A château is supported by its lands (terres), comprising a demesne that renders the society of the château largely self-sufficient, in the manner of the historic villa system of Rome and the Early Middle Ages. (Compare manorialism and hacienda.) The open Roman villas of the time of Pliny, Maecenas or emperor Tiberius began to be walled in, then fortified in the 3rd century, and evolved into castellar "châteaux." Even in modern use a château still retains some enclosures that are the distant descendants of these outworks: its fenced-off forecourt, with gates that could be closed and perhaps with a gatehouse or keeper's lodge, and its supporting outbuildings, like stables, kitchens, brewery, bakehouse, and lodgings for menservants in the garçonnière. Aside from the entrance cour d'honneur, the château may have an inner cour ("court"). Beyond, on the private inner side, the château faces a park that is enclosed, no matter how simply or discreetly. (If you doubt whether it is a château, ask to see the chapel.) Generic plan of a mediaeval manor; open-field strip farming, some enclosures, triennial crop rotation, demesne and manse, common woodland, pasturage and meadow Manorialism or Seigneurialism describes the organization of rural economy and society in medieval western and parts of central Europe, characterised by the vesting of legal and economic... A villa was originally a Roman country house built for the upper class. ... Generic plan of a mediaeval manor; open-field strip farming, some enclosures, triennial crop rotation, demesne and manse, common woodland, pasturage and meadow Manorialism or Seigneurialism describes the organization of rural economy and society in medieval western and parts of central Europe, characterised by the vesting of legal and economic... Hacienda is a Spanish word describing a vast ranch, common in the Pampa. ... There are two famous persons named Pliny: Pliny the Elder, a Roman nobleman, scientist and historian who died in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD The great-nephew of the former, Pliny the Younger, a statesman, orator, and writer who lived between 62 AD and 113 AD. This... Gaius or Cilnius Maecenas (70 - 8 BC) was a confidant and political advisor to Augustus Caesar, as well as an important sponsor of young poets. ... The Emperor Tiberius enamelled terracotta bust at the Victoria and Albert Museum. ... (2nd century - 3rd century - 4th century - other centuries) Events The Sassanid dynasty of Persia launches a war to reconquer lost lands in the Roman east. ...

In Paris, the original châteaux of the Louvre (originally fortified) and Luxembourg (originally in the suburbs) have lost their château name and have becomes "palaces" as the growing city enclosed them. The main courtyard of the Louvre. ...

In England, the word "château" never took root: even the utterly châteauesque Rothschild Waddesdon Manor is not a "château." Waddesdon Manor is a mansion at Waddesdon in Buckinghamshire, built between 1874 and 1889 for Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild (1839-1898) of the Rothschild banking dynasty, who was Member of Parliament for nearby Aylesbury. ...

In the U.S., "château" took root selectively. In the Gilded Age resort of Newport, Rhode Island, even the châteaux were always "cottages." But north of Wilmington, Delaware, in upscale rural "Château Country" centred on the powerful DuPont family, some of the châteaux are really just McMansions. The term Gilded Age refers to the political and economic nature situation of the United States from approximately 1876-1900. ... A side street in Newport, Rhode Island, showing the historic buildings near the waterfront Newport is a city located in Newport County, Rhode Island. ... City nickname: Location in the state of Delaware Founded County New Castle County Mayor James M. Baker (Dem) Area  - Total  - Water 44. ... This article is about the DuPont company. ... A relatively simple version of the McMansion. ...

French châteaux

Loire Valley

The Loire Valley (Val de Loire) is home to more than 300 châteaux. They were built between the 10th and 20th centuries, first by the French kings and soon followed by the nobility, which have caused the valley to be called "the Garden of France". Loire Valley (French Vallée de la Loire) is known as the Garden of France and the Cradle of the French Language. ... The châteaux of the Loire Valley (Val de Loire) number more than 300. ... ( 9th century - 10th century - 11th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 10th century was that century which lasted from 901 to 1000. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the...

Château of Dampierre-en-Yvelines: domesticated Baroque at the center of Louis XIV's inner circle

Dampierre-en-Yvelines

(illustration, right), built by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, 1675 - 1683 for the duc de Chevreuse, Colbert's son-in-law, is a French Baroque chateau of manageable size. Protected behind fine wrought iron double gates, the main block and its outbuildings (corps de logis), linked by balustrades, are ranged symmetrically around a dry paved and gravelled cour d'honneur. Behind, the central axis is extended between the former parterres, now mown hay. The park with formally shaped water was laid out by André Le Notre. There are sumptuous interiors. The small scale (compared to Vaux-le-Vicomte for example) makes it easier to compare it to the approximately contemporary Het Loo, for William of Orange. These really are "Mansart roofs." Jules Hardouin-Mansart, marble bust by Jean-Louis Lemoyne: a full-dress Baroque portrait bust demonstrates that the Kings architect is no mere craftsman Jules Hardouin-Mansart (Paris, April 16, 1646 – Marly, France, May 11, 1708) was a French architect whose work is generally considered to be the apex... Charles Honoré dAlbert, duc de Luynes, de Chaulnes et de Chevreuse (1646-1712), more simply known as the duc de Chevreuse, was a high-ranking French official under King Louis XIV. The duc de Chevreuse was the grandson of the duchesse de Chevreuse, one of the leading members of... Jean_Baptiste Colbert Jean_Baptiste Colbert (August 29, 1619 _ September 6, 1683) served as the French minister of finance, for 22 years, under King Louis XIV. He is notable for his work at improving the state of French manufacturing and bringing the economy back from the brink of bankruptcy; although, historians... Adoration, by Peter Paul Rubens: dynamic figures spiral down around a void: draperies blow: a whirl of movement lit in a shaft of light, rendered in a free bravura handling of paint The Baroque was a style in art that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce... A parterre is a formal garden construction on a level surface consisting of planting beds, edged in stone or tightly clipped hedging and gravel paths arranged to form a pleasing pattern. ... Painting of André Le Nôtre by Carlo Maratti André Le Nôtre (March 12, 1613 - September 15, 1700) was a landscape architect and the gardener of king Louis XIV of France from 1645 to 1700. ... Vaux-le-vicomte was in many ways the most important work built before Louis XIV came to power. ... Het Loo and its gardens, more ambitious than they were actually executed, in an early 18th century engraving (watercolor added) The former royal residence Het Loo near Apeldoorn, Netherlands, was built starting in 1684 for the Stadtholder Willem, known to English-language readers as William III of Orange and his... William of Orange (French: Guillaume, Dutch: Willem) is the name of several historical people. ...

Bordeaux

There are many estates with true châteaux on them in Bordeaux, but it is customary for any wine-producing estate, no matter how humble, to prefix its name with "Château". This is true whether the building itself is a magnificent palace or a shack. If there were any trace of doubt that the Roman villas of Aquitaine evolved into fortified self-contained châteaux, the wine-producing châteaux would dispel it. City motto: Lilia sola regunt lunam undas castra leonem. ... A glass of red wine This article is about the beverage. ... Capital Bordeaux Area 41,309 km² Regional President Alain Rousset ( PS) (since 1998) Population   - 2004 estimate   - 1999 census   - Density (Ranked 6th) 3,049,000 2,908,359 74/km² (2004) Arrondissements 18 Cantons 235 Communes 2,296 Départements Dordogne Gironde Landes Lot-et-Garonne Pyrénées-Atlantiques Aquitaine...

See also

• Châteaux of the Loire Valley
• List of castles

The châteaux of the Loire Valley (Val de Loire) number more than 300. ... The List of castles is a link page for any castle in the sense of a fortified building. ...

External links

• Photos of French chateau in the Dordogne, including Biron, Beynac and Castelnau (http://www.lodgephoto.com/galleries/france/)