Isn't this place beautiful? I know this would be prettier in spring, summer or fall but it's still a beautiful view. During Christmas time they put a decorated Christmas tree in each room on the tour. The banquet hall had the largest tree by far at around 40 feet. It was huge! The tour was great. We became season pass holders so we could come back to see the gardens at a better time of the year. I'll give you some history on the house because I think it is amazing!
(FYI, I copied most of the history from www.biltmore.com)
The Biltmore Estate was originally owned by George Washington Vanderbilt. Building Biltmore was, at the time, one of the largest undertakings in the history of American residential architecture. Over a six-year period, an entire community of craftsmen worked to build the country's premier home. The estate boasted its own brick factory, woodworking shop, and a three-mile railway spur for transporting materials to the site.
The celebrated architect Richard Morris Hunt modeled the house on three châteaux built in 16th-century France. It would feature 4 acres of floor space, 250 rooms, 34 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces. The basement alone would house a swimming pool, gymnasium and changing rooms, bowling alley, servants' quarters, kitchens, and more.
George Vanderbilt officially opened the home to friends and family on Christmas Eve in 1895. He had created a country retreat where he could pursue his passion for art, literature, and horticulture. After marrying the American Edith Stuyvesant Dresser (1873–1958) in Paris during the summer of 1898, George and his new bride came to live at the estate. Their only child, Cornelia (1900–1976), was born and grew up at Biltmore. It is the largest privately owned home in America and is still owned by the family.
It was rather cold and rainy/snowy the day we went.
This used to be the stables.
This is taken from the side of the house where the gardens start.
The grounds of the 125,000-acre estate were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the creator of New York's Central Park and the father of American landscape architecture. He not only developed acres of gardens and parkland, but in his efforts to protect the environment and reclaim over-farmed land, Olmsted established America's first managed forest.
A beautiful view over the rolling hills.
Click on the pictures to really see some of the detail on the house.
This is one of the many unique water fountains on the estate.
It was so interesting to tour the house and grounds and learn some of the history there. It was fun to learn the history of the family as well. I loved viewing all of the rooms in the house but I think one of my very favorites was the library. George Vanderbilt had a collection of over 20,000 books. Not all of them were in the library but it was a lot. It reminded me of a smaller version of the library in Beauty and the Beast. Actually several things reminded me of the Beauty and the Beast castle, including the intricate detail (including gargoyles) on the outside of the house. What would it have been like to live here? I will never find out but just seeing it was really cool.
I hope everyone has a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!
