THE LOST IMPERIAL PALACE

Reviving Versailles' rival

Synopsis

An insolent palace, overlooking Paris from a hill bordering the Seine; this was the imperial castle of Saint-Cloud, a splendor burnt down, a victim of the French-Prussian war of 1870.

Built within a 500-hectare park and decorated with fountains, basins, water jets, and waterfalls, the Château de Saint-Cloud overshadowed Louis XIV's Versailles.

Of this wonder, there is nothing left, except the park that surrounded it, but for the past ten years passionate historians have set out to revive it. Based on exceptional photos and archives, they have made breathtaking renditions of the castle.