Fontainebleau

Fontainebleau (fôNtĕnblō`), town (1990 pop. 18,037), Seine-et-Marne dept., N France, SE of Paris. It is a favorite spring and autumn resort and was long a royal residence, chiefly because of the excellent hunting in the vast Forest of Fontainebleau. Louis IV resided in Fontainebleau, and Philip IV and Louis XIII were born there. Francis I built the magnificent palace, the chief glory of French Renaissance architecture and the scene of many historic events. Francesco Primaticcio and Sebastiano Serlio, the principal artists of the palace, came to be known, along with their fellow artisans, as the first school of Fontainebleau. In the palace Louis XIV signed (1685) the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, Pope Pius VII was imprisoned (1812–14), and Napoleon signed his first abdication (1814). Fontainebleau also has a military museum. The town was headquarters of the military branch of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) from 1945 to 1965.

---

Fontainebleau

Château in northern France, southeast of the town of Fontainebleau. One of the largest structures built by the kings of France, it was originally a medieval hunting lodge, but was rebuilt (from 1528) under Francis I. Its numerous renovations show the transition from early Renaissance to Mannerist (Late Renaissance) styles. The château is a succession of five courts of different shapes. Of particular interest is the Gallery of Francis I (c. 1533–45), a long, narrow room decorated with stucco relief sculpture and painting by Rosso Fiorentino.

---

Fontainebleau

a town in N France, in the Forest of Fontainebleau: famous for its palace (now a museum), one of the largest royal residences in France, built largely by Francis I (16th century). Pop.: 15 942 (1999)