Fontainebleau

Fontainebleau, town in north central France, in the Seine-et-Marne Department, near the River Seine south-east of Paris. The town, which lies in the famous Fontainebleau Forest, is noted chiefly for its fine Renaissance château, at one time a residence of the kings of France, and since 1981 a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The château is surrounded by landscaped grounds and large formal gardens. In the early 16th century, François I assembled a large number of artists here, known as the School of Fontainebleau, to reconstruct and decorate the château (originally built chiefly in the 13th century). Various other French rulers, notably Henri IV, Louis XIII, Napoleon, Louis XVIII, Louis Philippe, and Napoleon III, spent great sums on additions and alterations here. The château was the site of an important visit by Christina, queen of Sweden, after her abdication in 1654. Among the many important state documents that were drawn up at Fontainebleau are the revocation in 1685 of the Edict of Nantes and the decree of abdication signed by Napoleon in 1814. The Germans used the château as a headquarters during World War II, and after the war it served as a seat of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization until 1965. It is now maintained as a public museum. Population 15,942 (1999).