Vaux le Vicomte – the chateau that enraged a King and inspired Versailles
Vicont is more than the chateau. It is a lesson in ego, beauty, and the dangers of flexing too hard in front of royalty. This is the place that was the inspiration for the palace of Versailles. But it also cost the man who built it everything, including his life. Located just an hour southeast of Paris, Chateau de Vik is the kind of place that screams elegance, but with an undercurrent of anise. And that’s because it isn’t a royal chateau. How could something so beautiful and expensive looking have been built by a mere nobleman? And more importantly, where did he get the money? It was this question that would enraged the Sun King Louis the 14th so much he threw its owner in jail. And along with the king’s anger, it was the beauty of the chatau that inspired the king’s determination to build something that would outshine it. The stunning palace of Bersai. This was one of the biggest scandals in French architectural history. The chateau was the brainchild of a man named Nicola Fuket. The marist deil fuket became the finance minister to Louis the 14th in the 1600s. Think of him as the CFO of France’s royal budget and also the guy who maybe liked to dip into the company accounts. The son king had become king at the mere age of five after the death of his father. Nicolola Fuket had been made minister of finance while the king was still a child under the regency of his mother. But when he reached adulthood, the sun king was itching to show that he was the boss now. Having been so close to the throne for so long, Fuket did not realize this and started to get careless. Using lands inherited by his wife, he decided to build a grand new chateau to show off his wealth and status and of course his proximity to the king. To build Vikont Fuket hired the best of the best, architect Lu Levo, landscape designer Andre Lenote and the painter Charles Leun. This dream team would later go on to build the chat de Versai, but Vikont was their first masterpiece. The collaboration was a success. The castle was completed in 1661, a mere 6 years after construction began. To celebrate, Fuket decided to throw a big party. Probably one of the worst ideas ever in the history of parties. On August 17th, 1661, Fuket threw his party of the century to show off his shiny new castle to Louis the 14th and the royal court. Think fireworks, gourmet banquetss, plays by Mulliel, and enough gold leaf to blind your enemies. This would lead to an unexpected reaction. Instead of being impressed, Louis the 14th had a look around and erupted in fury. To him, either Fuket was flaunting his wealth or he was stealing from him. The French author Wolter later wrote, “On August 17th at 6 p.m. in the evening, Fuket was the king of France. At 2:00 a.m. in the morning, he was a nobody. Louie set his trap. Fuket was arrested 3 weeks later for embezzlement. He was imprisoned for life and his wife exiled. The young king’s action after that fateful knight would consolidate his power on the French throne with his nobles now fearful of his wrath. King Louis the 14th would become an absolute monarch known as the sun king with everything revolving around him. The chat devikont was sequestered and Louisie raided it for many of its riches. Madame Fuket did recover her shadow 10 years later and retired there with her son. But in 1705, after the death of her husband and her son, she decided to put Vulv up for sale. She and her children never got to enjoy the status that Nicolas Fuket had sought after and fought so hard for. Let this be a lesson. Don’t try to outshine a king. While Fuket spent the rest of his days in prison, Louis the 14th, meanwhile, had a look at his architectural team. Using the same winning combo of Lenot and Liber, he asked them to build something bigger and better. And they did. If Vikont was the dress rehearsal, the Palace of Versailles was going to be the big theatrical premiere. And that’s because when it comes to French architectural design, Vikont at the time was revolutionary. The central dome over the Grand Salon, a brand new concept in France. The perfectly symmetrical French formal gardens stretching to the horizon. Lenote’s genius at work. There are perspective tricks here where things appear closer or larger than they are. All to create the illusion of endless grander. It was not just landscaping. It was psychological manipulation to tug at the heartstrings. Which shrubbery that is. The chatau sits on a large moated platform. Although the moat was purely for aesthetic purposes, the rest of the extravagant chateau features elaborate moldings and decorations rather than anything that can serve for a defensive purpose. Inside the chat, Leun pulled out all the stops. Murals dressed in mythology, gold leaf everywhere, secret messages about Fuket’s loyalty to the king, which clearly didn’t work. After the Fuket family sold it, it remained in private hands. Even during the 1789 French Revolution when many nobles lost their estates and their heads, Voluvik was relatively unscathed. In 1875, it was bought by the Sum Vogue family at auction, and it is now owned by their descendants, the Countest of Vogue. Today, the rooms are restored and filled with period furniture and art. But they also feel lived in because there is a family living here. You can visit during the day or come for a candlelight evening. 2,000 candles glow throughout the chateau and gardens on special occasions. There are also seasonal events for Easter and Christmas, a carriage museum, costumes to try on, and even a restaurant where you can eat like a 17th century aristocrat, hopefully with less political fallout. While Nicola Fuket and his family paid a steep price for all this exquisite luxury, his name will forever be engraved in the architectural history of France and the shatter devont. For more information on how to get to Volvigon, there is a link in the description to my website for more details about visiting the chateau from Paris. If you enjoyed this video, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the bell for more stories from France and beyond. Thanks for watching. Abento.