French château about 6 km north-east of Melun, in the département of Seine-et-Marne. It was built in 1656-1661 for Nicolas Fouquet, Louis XIV's Surintendant des Finances, by Louis Le Vau with the assistance of Charles Le Brun. The gardens were laid out by André Le Nôtre under Le Vau's guidance. The forerunner of Versailles, it is the most important château built in France in the mid-17th century; it was here that Le Vau, Le Brun and Le Nôtre learnt to work as a team and to produce the unity of architecture, interior decoration and garden layout that distinguishes the Louis XIV style.