Vaux-Le-Vicomte was built from 1656 - 1661 for Nicolas Fouquet, the Superintendent of Finances for King Louis XIV.  It was said, Vaux-le-Vicomte, was the finest Chateau during its time, enraging King Louis XIV.    The King accused Fouquet for the misappropriation of state funds. As a result, the King had Fouquet arrested shortly after Fouquet's housewarming party in August 1661. The writer, Voltaire, summed up this dramatic event by stating, "On 17 August, at six in the evening Fouquet was the King of France: at two in the morning he was nobody." Fouquet was imprisoned for life and his wife, exiled.  King Louis XIV confiscated most of the Chateau's contents, even stealing the architect, gardener and painter responsible for the Vaux-le-Vicomte. King Louis XIV then employed these artisians in the building of the Palace of Versailles.

 

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