La Fontaine Castle is the name of a former castle which was located in Clausen

Clausen, Luxembourg

Clausen is a quarter in central Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg.In 2001, the quarter had a population of 886 people....

, Luxembourg

Luxembourg

Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...

. The sumptuous building was the residence of Peter Ernst I von Mansfeld-Vorderort, governor of Luxembourg, who began its construction in 1563 and continued to extend it until his death in 1604. For this reason it is also known as the Palais Mansfeld or Mansfeld Palace. Today almost nothing remains of the former castle.

History

Mansfeld was appointed governor of Luxembourg in 1545 when he was only 28 years old. His successful military career combined with his interest in antiquity help to explain what drove him to embark on such an ambitious architectural project. The site itself offered not only magnificent views of the city from the front and of rocks and forests from the back but above all water from the River Alzette

Alzette

The Alzette is a river with a length of 73 kilometers in France and Luxembourg. It is a right tributary of the Sauer.It rises in Thil near the town Villerupt in the Meurthe-et-Moselle département, France. It crosses the border with Luxembourg after a few kilometres. In Lameschmillen it is joined...

 was available for the gardens, baths and fountains. Indeed, with a facade some 200 metres long, the castle was set back against the surrounding rocks in order to provide a maximum amount of space for the gardens. The gardens were decorated with antique statues, many of which were Roman works of art found in nearby Arlon. The estate, which also included a hunting park had a 5 km perimeter enclosed by solid walls. theAlthough the name of the architect is unknown, he appears to have been from the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, perhaps an associate of Hans Vredeman de Vries

Hans Vredeman de Vries

Hans Vredeman de Vries was a Dutch Renaissance architect, painter, and engineer. Vredeman de Vries is known for his publication in 1583 on garden design and his books with many examples on ornaments and perspective ....

 whose influence can clearly be seen. Some sources maintain that the castle was inspired by Château Fontaine in Forest

Forest, Belgium

Forest or Vorst is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium.The town is commonly known for its concert hall...

 near Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

.

Knowledge of the castle's size and appearance is due above all to period paintings by Georg Braun

Georg Braun

Georg Braun was a topo-geographer. From 1572 to 1617 he edited the Civitates orbis terrarum, which contains 546 prospects, bird's-eye views, and maps of cities from all around the world....

 (with Franz Hogenberg) and by Joachim Laukens. They show the style was late Gothic

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

 with Renaissance

Renaissance architecture

Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different regions of Europe, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material culture. Stylistically, Renaissance...

 influences.

Fall into ruin

On his death in 1604, Mansfeld bequeathed the furnishings of the castle to Philip III of Spain

Philip III of Spain

Philip III , also known as Philip the Pious, was the King of Spain and King of Portugal and the Algarves, where he ruled as Philip II , from 1598 until his death...

 who transported all the works of art and antiquities to Madrid. The Infanta Isabella

Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain

Isabella Clara Eugenia of Austria was sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands in the Low Countries and the north of modern France, together with her husband Albert. In some sources, she is referred to as Clara Isabella Eugenia...

did not accept the legacy of the palace which was laden with debts. As a result, it began to decay and was destroyed during the siege of 1684.