The Fontainebleau forest, a green lung on the outskirts of Paris, is affected by a fire of “exceptional scale”, detailed sub-prefect Yannis Bouzar. Monday July 13, at least 800 hectares of this emblematic forest massif of Île-de-France were ravaged by flames. Behind this fire-affected landscape lies a natural and cultural heritage dating back centuries.
The favorite hunting ground of the kings of France
Before being a mecca for hiking and climbing, the Fontainebleau forest was a royal forest. In 1137, the castle was mentioned for the first time in a charter from the Frankish King Louis VII the Younger. Originally built as a hunting lodge, this building would become over the centuries one of the favorite residences of French sovereigns.
In the 15th century, François I transformed Fontainebleau into a Renaissance palace and organized large hunting parties in the forest, to which princes and foreign ambassadors were invited. The forest has been developed in this way over the centuries: long straight paths are drawn and star-shaped crossroads are created to allow the crews to follow the game without losing sight of the dogs or the riders. This network still structures traffic in the forest today.
At the origin of the paving stones of Paris
Nearly 35 million years ago, the region was covered by a tropical sea whose deposits gave birth to one of the geological riches of the massif: the Fontainebleau sandstone. From the 19th century, this rock was extracted in numerous quarries in the forest, then cut into paving stones before being transported to Paris.
Renowned for its exceptional resistance to wear, sandstone becomes a preferred material for building roads at a time when the capital is seeing an increasing number of wheeled vehicles on its streets. Today, some old quarries are still visible in the forest and are now a delight for climbers.
A source of artistic inspiration
The Fontainebleau forest transformed into an artistic laboratory in the 19th century. In particular, it became the cradle of the Barbizon school, a movement whose members worked outdoors and which revolutionized landscape painting, until then considered inferior. The painters of this school will inspire the impressionists.
Its landscapes also inspire writers like Victor Hugo or George Sand, seduced by the rocks, the undergrowth and an atmosphere conducive to contemplation. Some pioneers of photography, such as Gustave Le Gray and Eugène Cuvelier, took photos there which helped to establish landscape photography as an art in its own right.
The natural settings of Fontainebleau have also hosted numerous filmings, including Cyrano de Bergerac (1990), Le Pacte des Loups (2001) and Asterix and Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre (2002).
The first protected site in France
The painters of the Barbizon school, who made the forest their refuge, were alarmed in the middle of the 19th century by the logging that threatened the landscapes they painted. Their mobilization pushed Napoleon III to sign a decree creating “artistic reserves” in 1861. Logging was then prohibited on more than 1,000 hectares.
This decision made the forest the first natural park in the world. The starting point of a long tradition of protection which continues today with the Fontainebleau and Gâtinais biosphere reserve, designated by Unesco in 1998 as the tenth French biosphere reserve, and the Natura 2000 classification of the massif in 2006.
One of the most visited sites in France
Just an hour from Paris, the Fontainebleau forest is today one of the busiest natural spaces in Europe. It welcomes nearly 15 million visitors each year, who come to hike, climb its famous sandstone blocks, cycle, horseback ride or simply enjoy nature.
The massif is home to nearly 12,000 animal, plant and fungal species, including many rare or protected species, such as the lulu lark or the pitchou warbler. The forest is also distinguished by its trees: some oaks or beeches are several hundred years old.
