Cour d'Honneur, Chateau de Maintenon, Eure-et-Loir, France
Cour d'Honneur, or main courtyard, with (left) south east wing, early 16th century, with its round tower and (right) west wing culminating in the 13th century Square Tower or keep, at the Chateau de Maintenon, built 13th - 18th century, and from 1674, residence of Madame de Maintenon, 1635-1719, second wife of King Louis XIV, at Maintenon, Eure-et-Loir, France. The facades of the main courtyard were changed in the 19th century by the Duke Paul de Noailles and his architect Henri Parent. In the distance is the parterre, designed by Andre Le Notre, and the Aqueduc de Maintenon, an unfinished aqueduct built 1686-89 by Vauban, part of a project to supply water in the Canal de l'Eure or Canal de Louis XIV, across the Eure valley to the Chateau de Versailles. The castle is listed as a historic monument. Picture by Manuel Cohen
