View source for Château de Ferrières

{{Short description|Château in Seine-et-Marne, France}}
{{Infobox building
| name                = Château de Ferrières
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| image               = Chateau de Ferrieres.jpg
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| map_type            = France Île-de-France
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| building_type       = [[Château]]
| architectural_style = [[Neo-Renaissance]]
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| location            = [[Ferrières-en-Brie]], [[Seine-et-Marne]], France
| coordinates         = {{coord|48|49|11|N|2|42|43|E|region:FR|display=inline,title}}
| start_date          = 1855
| completion_date     = 1859
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'''Château de Ferrières''' ({{IPA|fr|ʃɑto də fɛʁjɛʁ}}) is a French [[château]] built between 1855 and 1859 for [[James Mayer de Rothschild|Baron James de Rothschild]] in the [[Goût Rothschild]] style located in central France, some 26&nbsp;km east of Paris. 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 to the [[University of Paris]]. Considered to be the largest and most luxurious 19th-century château in France, it can be reached from Rue Rucherie in the town of [[Ferrières-en-Brie]] in the [[Seine-et-Marne]] department.

==Early history==
Sitting at the crest of a long entry drive, the château was designed by the [[United Kingdom|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 nephew, [[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".<ref>{{cite book |last=Cowles |first=Virginia |title=The Rothschilds : A Family of Fortune |location=New York |publisher=Knopf |year=1973 |isbn=0-394-48773-7 }}</ref>

Built in the [[Neo-Renaissance]] style inspired by the [[Italian Renaissance architecture|architecture of the Italian Renaissance]], with square towers at each corner, the house sits on a formal terrace that gives way to 1.25&nbsp;km² of gardens in a parkland landscaped [[English landscape garden|''à l'anglaise'']] that was part of a surrounding 30&nbsp;km² forest contained in the estate. The showpiece central hall is 120 feet (37 m) long and 60 feet (18 m) <!-- the original data must be metric, sources needed --> 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]].

Baron James acquired a vast collection of works of art, and statues adorned a number of the château's rooms. Several of the many sculptures were by [[Alexandre Falguière]] and the 18th-century Italian, [[Antonio Corradini]] and the Baron's son later added works by [[René de Saint-Marceaux]].
{|class="toccolours" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2em; font-size: 95%; background:#white; color:black; width:30em; max-width: 40%;" cellspacing="5"
|style="text-align: left;"|"No Kings could afford this! It could only belong to a Rothschild"
|-
|style="text-align: left;" |— [[William I, German Emperor|Wilhelm I]], the Emperor of Germany, on visiting Ferrières.<ref>{{cite book |title=Lafite : The Story of Château Lafite-Rothschild |first=Cyril |last=Ray |location=New York |publisher=Stein and Day |year=1969 |page=66 |oclc=5979 }}</ref>
|}
During the [[Franco-Prussian War]] of 1870-71, the Château de Ferrières was seized by the [[Germany|Germans]] and was the site of negotiations between [[Otto von Bismarck]], [[Chancellor of Germany (German Reich)|Chancellor]] of the [[North German Confederation]], and the French [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (France)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]], [[Jules Favre]]. The Germans again seized the château during the occupation of France in [[World War II]], and this time, they looted its vast art collections.

The château remained empty until 1959, when [[Guy de Rothschild]] and his new wife, [[Marie-Hélène de Rothschild|Marie-Hélène de Zuylen van Nyevelt]], set about refurbishing it. From 1959, they hosted regular parties at the château, the theme of which would be personally designed by artists or designers such as [[Yves Saint Laurent (designer)|Yves Saint Laurent]]. Their parties would mainly consist of aristocrats, but they always included many of her friends from a wider society, such as [[Brigitte Bardot]], [[Grace Kelly]] and [[Audrey Hepburn]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Richard Burton Diaries |first=Richard |last=Burton |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2012 |page=550 |isbn=978-0-300-18010-7 }}</ref>

==Recent history==
[[File:Eugène-Louis Lami 002.jpg|thumb|Watercolour painting of the Great Hall, by [[Eugène Lami]]]]

In 1975, Guy de Rothschild and his wife Marie-Hélène donated the château to the chancellery of the [[University of Paris]] for charitable purposes.

On 12 December 1972, the château hosted the now-legendary [[Surrealist Ball of 1972|Surrealist Ball]], organised by Baroness Marie-Hélène de Rothschild. Designed with a dreamlike, Dali-inspired aesthetic, the event featured fur-covered plates, taxidermied centrepieces, and an elite guest list that included [[Salvador Dalí]] and [[Audrey Hepburn]]. Invitations were printed in reverse and required a mirror to read them.<ref>{{cite web |last=Margaritoff |first=Marco |title=Inside The Infamous Rothschild Surrealist Ball Of 1972 |url=https://allthatsinteresting.com/rothschild-party |website=All That's Interesting |date=28 December 2020 |access-date=25 May 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Menon |first=Vinay |title=The Rothschild Surrealist Ball |url=https://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/9484/the-rothschild-surrealist-ball |website=AnOther Magazine |date=14 December 2016 |access-date=24 May 2025}}</ref>

Since 2015, the property has been home to the "École Ferrières", a private institution specialising in gastronomy and hospitality. Two restaurants operate on-site: "Le Baron" and "Le Chai".<ref>{{cite web |title=About École Ferrières |url=https://www.ferrieres-paris.com/en/about-us/ |website=École Ferrières |access-date=24 May 2025}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
{{unreferenced section|date=November 2017}}
*Several episodes of ''[[Highlander: The Series]]'' and ''[[Highlander: The Raven]]'' were filmed at the château between 1995 and 1999
*Scenes in the [[Roman Polanski]] film ''[[The Ninth Gate]]'' (2000) were filmed at the château in 1998
*An episode of the TV series ''[[Relic Hunter]]'' (1999-2002) was filmed at the château
*The music video of American singer [[Beyoncé]]’s song "[[Partition (song)|Partition]]" was filmed at the château in 2013
*The music video of French singer [[Indila]]'s song "[[Tourner dans le vide]]" was filmed at the château in 2014<ref>https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-indila-podcast-episode-4-tourner-dans-le-vide/id1805511638?i=1000704189651</ref>
*Scenes in the film ''[[The Count of Monte Cristo (2024 film) ]]'' were filmed there in 2023.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{commons category-inline|Château de Ferrières (Ferrières-en-Brie)|Château de Ferrières}}
* [http://www.ferrieres-paris.com/ École Ferrières] - official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrieres, chateau de}}
[[Category:Châteaux in Seine-et-Marne]]
[[Category:Monuments historiques of Seine-et-Marne]]
[[Category:Rothschild family residences]]
[[Category:Joseph Paxton buildings and structures]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1859]]