Jan
17
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Historic chateaux in France

Author Chateau De Gateau    Category French Property Articles     Tags

Castles and magnificent mansions have always been the homes for the rich and the famous. In the yester years these same homes needed protection from various enemies and their artilleries and therefore, had walls and towers and moats built around them. These fortified castles were seen from the middle ages in France and the numbers grew with time.

The Chateau de Chambord in the Loire Valley is a classic example of the Renaissance castle. This was built by King Francois I as a hunting lodge and is the largest chateau in the region. The architecture is a combination of the Gothic, the Renaissance and a fairyland look; it is surrounded by a wall that extends to 22 miles in length. Chateau de Chambord has 440 rooms with equal number of fireplaces that are large enough to act as doorways; 13 staircases in all and a stable to house more than a thousand horses. The castle took nearly 28 years to be completed from 1519 to 1547. A particular double staircase in the Italian style and perhaps designed by Leonardo da Vinci is unique – anyone gong down cannot see any one climbing up nor can one see another climbing up or down at the same time!

The chateaux changed from being fortresses to graceful homes for the nobility and the regal families and lost their middle ages foreboding looks. The gradual change is evident in the Fontainebleau Chateau, to the Chenonceaux, to the Azay-le-Rideau castles. However, some of the medieval characteristics were retained in the newer structures like the large windows, Mansard roofs and the round corner towers. The chateau de Versailles built in 1661 by Louis XIV has lower ceilings, less rounded structures and in general resembles an elegant palace rather than a medieval castle.

Chateau de Amboise is a 15th century castle and the first of Italian styled castles in the Loire Valley. The Chateau de Cloux, which belonged to Francois I, is famous for being the last place of residence of Leonardo da Vinci. The Chateau d’Angers in the town of Angers is a Moorish castle built from 1228 to 1238. One can still see the “Apocalypse” tapestry in this castle adorning the walls of its ancient structure with its 140 meters length and 76scenes from the Book of John and the New Testament.

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