Release date: 22/07/2011 |    

Chateau de Chantilly & Musée Condé

Chateau de Chantilly houses one of the finest museums of historical paintings in France and is second only to The Louvre in Paris. Amongst the collection are by Raphael, not including The Louvre museum.

The stunning castle ‘Chateau de Chantilly’ is surrounded by 155 hectares of parkland part of one of the largest forests near Paris.

Château Chantilly was originally built around 1560 by Jean Bullant, for a member of the Montmorency family.

In the mid-17th century, the Condé family took over ownership of the château, and developed lakes, canals, waterfalls, ponds, and a maze was also added to the grounds.

Historically the chateau was destroyed during the French Revolution and of what remained was used as a prison for the period of time.  Eventually the chateau was reformed to its starting glory and became a popular venue for festivals and gatherings.

In 1886 the Duc d'Aumale gave the château and surrounding park to the Institut de France, along with the art collection and library.

In 2005, the Institut de France entrusted a development group (Foundation pour la sauvegarde et le developpement de Domaine de Chantilly) to restore the unique heritage and manage the ‘Domain de Chantilly’.  The natural heritage of the chateau, the collection of paintings, priceless manuscripts, the historic gardens and the 18^th century stables all part of the heritage of Chantilly.

Although the foundation’s managing director, Bruno Ory-Lavolee’s main focus was the restoration he also had a vision to revitalize the use of the national heritage site bringing rich cultural and sporting events that would attract visitors to enjoy the prestigious surroundings. The Global Champions Tour comes to this magnificent venue for the second season in 2011.

The Stables

In the 18^th century the Duke of Bourbon, Louis-Henri, (seventh Prince of Conde) built the on site stables Les Grandes Ecuries to house 240 horses, with adjoining kennels to accommodate 500 dogs.

Today, the stable area has been transformed to contain the Musée Vivant du Cheval (Living Horse Museum). The Museum was originally created by Yves Bienaimé in 1982.  The unique museum houses all one would want to see in regards to horses.  It is open every day and costs around €8 entrance fee.

More recently the Grand Stables courtyard undertook complete restoration and in celebration has installed into the inner courtyard a magnificent antique carrousel complete with wooden horses.

Above: Riders warm up on the inner racetrack at Chantilly.  In the background the beautiful grandstand built in the 1800's.

Chantilly Racecourse, embedded in the Château’s grounds, is the oldest thoroughbred racing venues in France with the first racing meet held in 1834.

A right-handed course, it was built with interlocking tracks. The main course is 2,400 meters long, with another at 2,150 meters, plus a round course adaptable from 1,400 to 2,400 meters.

In 2010 grass arena was specially built alongside the race track for the Global Champions Tour events.

Chantilly, justifiably titled “City of the Horse’ is an historical, sumptuous setting for the 7^th leg of the 10 round Global Champions Tour in 2011.

The program of Jumping Chantilly 2* classes commenced on Thursday 21st in the Amphitheatre second arena.

Photo Credits: Stefano Grasso/GCT