FONTAINEBLEAU (fonttain-ble), a town of France, department of Seine-et Marne, near the Seine, in the forest of the same name, 32 miles S. S. E. of Paris, and 8 S. by E. of Melun. Manu factures porcelain. Fontainebleau owes its celebrity, and indeed origin, to its palace, or château, a favorite residence of the French monarchs. This is a vast and superb pile, in fact, rather a collec tion of palaces of different architectural periods, than a single edifice. Saracenic, Tuscan, and Greek orders are intermixed and interspersed with that of the Renais sance, and with the most bizarre and dissimilar ornamentation; yet, on the whole, the structure has a striking air of grandeur and majesty. It is surrounded by magnificent gardens, and lies in the forest of Fontainebleau, a finely wooded tract of 42,500 acres, intersected by the Seine, and presenting a very varied and picturesque surface. The château of Fontainebleau has been the scene of many historical events. Philip IV., Henry III., and Louis XIII. were born in it; and the first-named monarch died here.
It was here that Louis XIV. signed the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, in 1685. It was visited by Peter the Great; Louis XV. espoused the daughter of Stanislaus, King of Poland, in this pal ace; Pope Pius VII. was confined within its walls for 18 months; and it is inti mately connected with the history of Napoleon, who made it his favorite resi dence. He signed his abdication in the palace, in 1814. It was comparatively neglected by Louis XVIII. and Charles X.; but Louis Philippe restored it to somewhat of its ancient grandeur. In 1837 the nuptials of the Due d'Orleans were celebrated here with great pomp. Under Napoleon III. the palace was still more enlarged and embellished, and be came the scene of luxurious autumnal fetes, rivalling those of the days of Louis XIV. The forest of Fontainebleau became famous during the 19th century as the resort of many famous French painters of the modern school, Rousseau, Corot, Diaz, Millet, etc. Pop. about 15,000.