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East of Paris is the Bois de Vincennes. I took the Métro there for a quiet afternoon walk in the park. In the 12th Century, Vincennes became the site for a hunting lodge, a fortified mansion, an oak tree from which justice was meted out, and a chapel. The château has always been a favorite hunting castle of the French kings. It was completed in during the reign of Charles V, who was born at Vincennes in 1337. It's said that Louis XI left from this château on the Crusades to the Middle East where he died. The château grew and became a genuine fortress like the English castles. Philippe III (1274) and Philippe IV (1322) married here and Louis X (1316), Philippe V (1322) and Charles IV (1328) were born here. The dungeon of the castle had Henri de Navarre (the future Henri IV) as a guest and also the famous superintendent Fouquet was imprisoned here in 1662. Until Versailles was built in the 17th Century, Vincennes was the home of the French kings.
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Western Europe
