FONTAINEBLEAU, a town of France, at the head of an arrondissement, in the department of Seine-et-Marne, about 37 miles S.E. from Paris on the railway to Lyons, in 48° 24' 23" N. lat. and 2° 42' 1" E. long. It stands in the midst of the forest of Fontainebleau, is well built, and has broad, clean, handsome streets. Among the more important buildings and institutions are the hotel de ville, the barracks, the court-house, two hospitals, a college, and a public library. The Pompadour mansion, and a portion of that which belonged to the cardinal of Ferrara, are still preserved; and a statue of General Damesme adorns the principal square. Wood-turning and the manufacture of porcelain and earthenware are the chief industries; and wine, grapes, garden produce, and paving stones are articles of export. The population in 1871 was 11,545. In the immediate vicinity of the town is the celebrated palace of Fontainebleau—one of the largest, and in the interior one of the most sumptuous, of the royal residences of France. The origin of the name and of the building are equally unknown; but the old manor-house was used by Louis VII. in the latter part of the 12th century, and continued a favourite residence of Philip Augustus and St Louis. The existing edifice was begun by Francis I., who laid out immense sums of money in its erection, employing Primaticcio, a famous Italian architect, to draw the plans, and commissioning Leonardo da Vinci, Andrea del Sarto, and Benvenuto Cellini to expend the resources of their arts in making it a truly royal residence. Henry IV. doubled the area of the buildings and gardens, adding among other portions the great Diana gallery, the Court of the Princes, and the Galerie des Cerfs. A canal which he constructed was afterwards filled up by Louis XIV. ...