24 March 2003

Pierrefonds

The fact that we dislike crowds is probably the biggest reason we live in a small town, rather than Paris.  Our adventures usually take us to other small towns, like Pierrefonds.

As I entered the tiny town of Pierrefonds it didn’t seem any different then the last few I’d driven through on the windy road from Compeigne.  As I drove past the ancient stone walls and houses there was a sudden quick flash of a giant building high on a hill on the right.

And then suddenly the buildings seemed to part and I was overwhelmed by the sight of a huge medieval castle (built in 1393 by the descendants of Nivelon de Pierrefonds)) hovering over the town.  For a moment this fantasy place, the Chateau of Pierrefonds took my breath away.

I climbed the steep road that winds up the hill around the castle and as I huffed and puffed the building's massive stone walls impressed me.  There were the occasional cannon ball holes and the landscape is barren.  The drawbridge still has a huge wheel and looks like it could be pulled up so that the castle could still be a safe place to hide.

Richelieu demolished the castle in 1617 under the orders of Louis XIII to prevent local people from having protection from his army.  In 1810 the site was purchased by Napoleon I.  Then Napoleon III spent over 30 years restoring the castle into a residence for his family.

The castle is mammoth with towers and giant wood paneled rooms.  There are huge metal sculptures of roosters, Madonnas and kings and queens.  The chapel is filled with beautiful paintings and giant stone statutes paying tribute to different saints.

Just off the inside the courtyard there is a small area to enter that looks more like a cave.  In this series of rooms is the story of some “big” thinking.  Beginning in the mid-1800’s a man named Monduit and then his son Philippe were encouraged by area architects to revive the art of lead-working.  The process consists of hammering out a sheet of lead, or copper, on a die in order to produce motifs in the desired shapes for elivening the roof coverings of buildings.  Madame Monduit (the wife of Philippe) donated many of the pieces on display here including a human size copy of the Statue of Liberty.  The vision of Monduit helped to save buildings like Notre-Dame in Paris.

This ancient place is filled with simple beauty.  The views from the top of the hill where the castle rests are stunning.  Large houses that make up the tiny town below look like miniatures.  And there are two things in this building that no castle should be without…a cat and a ghost.

The black and white cat seems to understand that he is actually the king.  The first time I noticed him he was walking casually across the courtyard.  When I entered the throne room, Mr. Cat was giving himself a bath on none other then the throne.  When I snapped his picture he posed for me but as soon as the flash went off he returned to his cleaning ritual.

The second time I visited the castle with my family.  We arrived late in the day and as we walked back down the hill to the car it was getting dark outside.  As we climbed into the car we all looked up at the top of the castle and Cat said there was something standing on one of the towers.  We studied the darkened figure for a long time.  After awhile we started to drive away and then turned back to look at the figure on top of the castle and it had moved to a different position.  Cat was sure it was a ghost and there was no explaining it away.

Personally I have no idea if ghosts exist or not.  I am convinced though that the people who have loved this place, and worked to bring it back from ruin do live on through the continued existence of the building.  One of them must be standing up on that tower now looking down at the world below.  It would be interesting to know what they are thinking.