Château de Ferrières
| Château de Ferrières | |
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| General information | |
| Type | Château |
| Architectural style | Neo-Renaissance |
| Location | Ferrières-en-Brie, Seine-et-Marne, France |
| Coordinates | 48°49′11″N 2°42′43″E / 48.81972°N 2.71194°ECoordinates: 48°49′11″N 2°42′43″E / 48.81972°N 2.71194°E |
| Construction started | 1855 |
| Completed | 1859 |
Château de Ferrières (French pronunciation: [ʃɑto də fɛʁjɛːʁ]) is a French château built between 1855 and 1859 for Baron James de Rothschild in the Goût Rothschild. Rothschild ownership of the Château de Ferrières was passed down through the male line according to the rule of primogeniture, until it was donated by the family in 1975. Considered to be the largest and most luxurious 19th-century château in France, it is reached from rue Rucherie in Ferrières-en-Brie in the Seine et Marne département of France, about 26 km east of Paris.
Sitting at the crest of a long entry drive, the château was designed by the British architect Joseph Paxton. The inspiration for the design of Ferrières was Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire, England, the house that Paxton had built for Baron James's cousin, Mayer Amschel de Rothschild. On seeing Mentmore, Baron James is reputed to have summoned Paxton and ordered him to "Build me a Mentmore, but twice the size".
Built in the Neo-Renaissance style inspired by the architecture of the Italian Renaissance, with square towers at each corner, the house sits on a formal terrace that gives way to 1.25 km² of gardens in a parkland landscaped à l'anglaise that was part of a surrounding 30 km² forest contained in the estate. The showpiece central hall is 120 feet (37 m) long and 60 feet (18 m) high, its roof a full glass skylight. The sculpting of the interior atlas columns and caryatids was by Charles Henri Joseph Cordier, and the decorative painting was supervised by Eugène Lami. The massive library held more than 8,000 volumes. Because lavish entertaining was important, in addition to the private Rothschild apartments, the Château de Ferrières was built with eighty guest suites. Ferrières was inaugurated 16 December 1862 with a gala attended by Napoleon III.
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