Château d'Écouen

About this place

The Château d'Écouen is an historic château in the commune of Écouen, some 20 km north of Paris, France, and a notable example of French Renaissance architecture. Since 1975, it has housed the collections of the Musée national de la Renaissance. The château was built between 1539 and 1555 for Anne de Montmorency, the Connétable de France or Grand Constable, chief minister and commander of the French army for King Francois I, and later for Henri II. It contains important collections of paintings, sculptures, ceramics, stained glass, furniture, textiles and other arts of the French Renaissance. Records show that a fortress has existed on this hilltop site since the 12th century. Compare the overall outline with the spaces intended for residence and ceremony. The contrast helps reveal how architecture expressed the ambitions of its patrons and how inherited forms could be adapted to new expectations of comfort and display.