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Château de Louvois was originally built in the 13th century, but underwent substantial renovation following its acquisition by the young Marquis de Louvois. He entirely rebuilt the property, replacing the medieval chateau with a grand and gracious residence boasting some of the finest gardens to be seen anywhere in 17th century France. Behind the chateau, a succession of parterre gardens extended all the way to a U-shaped retaining wall against the hillside. A ramp on either side of the gardens led to a terrace featuring a 60-foot wide pool with decorative water spouts.
From there a grand degré (monumental staircase) led to a long, wide, central avenue that ran through woodlands, and to a large, upper pool that served as a reservoir for the lower terrace pool, the pools in each of the four flanking bosquets and also the water tower. The reservoir itself was supplied with water that had to be channelled three kilometres from the springs of Vertuelles and the Fontaine Fraîche.
The property was sold in 1776 to Louis XV’s daughters, Adélaïde and Sophie then destroyed (except for the foundations) at the time of the French Revolution. It was rebuilt in the 19th Century, complete with wrought iron entrance gates widely considered to be among the finest examples of traditional locksmithing.In more recent times (2012-2013), luxury Champagne House Laurent Perrier commissioned students of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture in Versailles to examine correspondence by the Marquis de Louvois together with plans stored in the archives of the Swedish National Museum in Stockholm. Their findings show that André Le Nôtre was the creative genius behind the terraced vertugadin (turfed greensward), with its playful visual effects on the views from and towards the chateau.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.