Chantilly | History, Geography, & Points of Interest | Britannica (original) (raw)

Chantilly, residential town and tourist centre, Oise département, Hauts-de-France région, northern France, 26 miles (42 km) north of Paris by road. Situated near the forest of Chantilly, it is celebrated for its château, park, and racecourse and associated stables.

Chantilly porcelainChantilly porcelain plate decorated with dragons, c. 1725; in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

In the 18th century Chantilly became famed for its fine lacework and beautiful porcelain. The town derives its name from Cantilius, a Gallo-Roman, who built the first villa there. The château, on a small rocky island in an artificial lake, was built in the 14th century and has since been restored several times. Now housing the Musée Condé, in 1886 it was bequeathed, together with its collections of the museum, library, and surrounding park, to the Institut de France by the duc d’Aumale. The fine art collections of the museum include works by the Italian Renaissance painter Raphael (1483–1520) and rare portraits by the 16th-century court painters Jean and François Clouet. The great 18th-century stables, built to house 240 horses and more than 400 hounds, are also open to the public. The racecourse was inaugurated in 1834. The annual races of the French Jockey Club are run in June. Chantilly is one of France’s principal horse-training centres. The town has also given its name to a kind of whipped cream. Pop. (1999) 10,902; (2014 est.) 10,861.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Chelsey Parrott-Sheffer.