Château de Pierrefonds

The castle's origins date back to the 12th century, when a fortified structure existed on this site. In 1392, King Charles VI elevated the County of Valois, to which Pierrefonds belonged, to a duchy and granted it to his brother Louis d’Orléans. The latter had the castle extensively rebuilt and expanded between 1393 and 1407 under the direction of court architect Jean le Noir. In March 1617, the complex was besieged and captured by Cardinal Richelieu's troops, as the then lord, François-Annibal d’Estrées, was part of a group of disgruntled nobles rebelling against King Louis XIII. The castle was subsequently largely destroyed and remained a ruin for over 200 years. Napoleon Bonaparte acquired the ruin in 1810. In 1832, Citizen King Louis Philippe hosted a banquet there to celebrate the marriage of his daughter Louise to Leopold I of Belgium. The later Emperor Napoleon III visited the ruin in 1850 and commissioned Eugène Viollet-le-Duc in 1857 to reconstruct and restore it, with the aim of creating an imperial residence. Work was interrupted by the fall of Napoleon III and finally ceased six years after Viollet-le-Duc's death in 1885.

The Château de Pierrefonds is situated at approximately 114 meters above sea level in the commune of Pierrefonds, in the Oise department, Picardy region, France. It is located on the southeastern edge of the Compiègne forest.

Today, the Château de Pierrefonds is open to visitors and can be explored. It also frequently serves as a backdrop for film productions and television series.

• Château de Crépy-en-Valois (castle), approx. 14.1 km away
• Château du Houssoy (castle), approx. 29.1 km away
• Château de Champivert (castle), approx. 29.2 km away
• Château de Chantilly (castle), approx. 39.8 km away