The Loire Valley

Loire Valley (Vallée de la Loire) is known as the Garden of France and the Cradle of the French Language. It is also noteworthy for the quality of its architectural heritage in its historic towns such as Amboise, Angers, Blois, Chinon, Orléans, Saumur, and Tours, but in particular for its world-famous castles such as the Ch’teaux Amboise, Chambord and Chenonceau. The landscape of the Loire Valley, and more particularly its many cultural monuments, illustrate to an exceptional degree the ideals of the Renaissance and the Age of the Enlightenment on western European thought and design. On December 2, 2000, UNESCO named the central part of the Loire River valley to its prestigious list of World Heritage Sites.

LINK : http://www.lvo.com/GB/INDEX.HTML

History of the ch’teaux

The ch’teaux of the Loire Valley number more than 300. They represent a nation of builders starting with the necessary castle fortifications in the 10th century to the splendor of those built a thousand years later. When the French kings began constructing their huge ch’teaux here, the nobility, not wanting or even daring to be far from the seat of power, followed suit. Their presence in the lush, fertile valley with its moderate climate, began attracting the very best landscape designers.

By the middle of the 16th century, King Francois I had shifted the center of power in France from the Loire back to the ancient capital of Paris. With him went the great architects, but the Loire Valley continued to be the place where most of the French royalty preferred to spend the bulk of their time. The ascension of King Louis XIV in the middle of the 17th century made Paris the permanent site for great royal ch’teaux when he built the Palace of Versailles. Nonetheless, those who gained the King's favour and the wealthy bourgeoisie, continued to renovate existing ch’teaux or build lavish new ones as their summer residence in the Loire.

The French Revolution saw a number of the great French ch’teaux destroyed and many ransacked, their treasures stolen. The overnight impoverishment of many of the deposed nobility, usually after one of its members lost their head to the guillotine, saw many ch’teaux demolished.

Today, these privately owned ch’teaux serve as homes, a few opening their doors to tourist visits, while others are operated as hotels. Many have been taken over by a local government authority or the giant structures like those at Chambord are owned and operated by the national government and are major tourist sites, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

Some ch’teaux

Ch’teau de Chambord

The Royal Ch’teau at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, is one of the most recognizable ch’teaux in the world because of its very distinct French Renaissance architecture that blends traditional medieval forms with classical Italian structures.

It is the largest castle in the Loire Valley, but was built to serve only as a hunting lodge for King FranÁois I who maintained his royal residences at Ch’teau de Blois and at Ch’teau d'Amboise. The original design of the Ch’teau de Chambord was by Domenico da Cortona, but was altered considerably during the twenty years of its construction (1519‑1547). Leonardo da Vinci, a guest of King Francois I at Clos Lucé near Amboise, is believed to have been involved in the original design. Nearing completion, King FranÁois I showed off his enormous symbol of wealth and power by hosting his old enemy, Emperor Charles V.

The massive castle is composed of a central keep with 4 immense towers. The keep also forms part of the front wall of a larger compound with two more large towers. Bases for a possible further two towers are found at the rear, but these were never developed, and remain the same height as the wall. The castle features 440 rooms, 365 fireplaces, and 84 staircases. The castle also features 128 m of faÁade, more than 800 sculpted columns and an elaborately decorated roof. The castle is surrounded by a 52.5 km¾ (13,000 acre) wooded park and game reserve maintained with Red Deer enclosed by a 31 kilometre (20 mile) wall.

One of the architectural highlights is the spectacular double-helix open staircase that is the centrepiece of the castle. The two helices ascend the three floors without ever meeting, illuminated from above by a sort of light house at the highest point of the castle. There are suggestions that Leonardo da Vinci may have designed the staircase, but this has not been confirmed.

The ch’teau was never intended to provide any form of defence from imagined enemies. As such, the walls, towers and partial moat are purely symbolic, and even at the time were an anachronism. Elements of the architecture were also borrowed from the Italian Renaissance style, which made them out of place in chillier central France.

LINK : http://www.chambord.org/educ/libre-GB.htm

Ch’teau de Chenonceau

The Ch’teau de Chenonceau, near the small village of Chenonceau, Indre-et-Loire, was built on the site of an old mill on the River Cher in the 16^th century. Thomas Bohier razed the castle-keep and the fortified mill of the Marques family only keeping the donjon, the Marques tower, which he transformed in Renaissance style.

The forecourt reproduces the layout of the former medieval castle demarcated by the moats. Next to the tower, there is also the well decorated with a chimaera and an eagle - the emblem of the Marques family.

An architectural mixture of late Gothic and early Renaissance, Ch’teau de Chenonceau and its gardens are open to the public. Other than the Royal Palace of Versailles, Chenonceau is the most visited ch’teau in France.

LINK : http://www.chenonceau.com/media/gb/index_gb.php

Ch’teau de Cheverny

The Ch’teau de Cheverny is located at Cheverny, Loir-et-Cher. The lands were purchased by Henri Hurault, Comte de Cheverny, and Treasurer for War under King Louis XI

In 1914, the owner opened the chateau to the public, one of the first to ever do so. The family still operates it and Ch’teau Cheverny remains a top tourist attraction to this day, renowned for magnificent interior rooms and its collection of furniture, tapestries and objets d'art. Around 90 hunting dogs are also kept on the grounds and are taken out for hunts twice weekly.

The Belgian comic book creator Hergé used Cheverny as a model for his fictional "Ch’teau de Moulinsart" (Marlinspike Hall) in the Tintin books. In these books, the two outermost wings are not present, but the remaining central tower and two wings are almost identical.

LINK : http://www.chateau-cheverny.fr/page.php?lang=en&nom_page=visite