!!!Chateaux of the Loire Valley 1

by Stas Sedov and 
Dmitry Moiseenko,
members of the [AirPano Team|Geography/About/Consortium/AirPano,_Team] that is a member of the [global-geography Consortium|Geography/About/Consortium]. \\

27 May 2016

with kind permission of [AirPano|http://www.AirPano.com]

The ancient castles and palaces are one of the most significant features
of France. Everyone has heard about Louvre: the royal palace in Paris,
originally built as a castle and later turned into one of the greatest
museums in the world; or the Château d'If — the former fortress which
was the place of imprisonment of the legendary Count of Monte Cristo.

However, there are dozens of other similar but less known castles in
France, and each one has its unique history and outstanding
architecture. But the Châteaux of the Loire Valley are of special
interest: the number of the castles their number is so huge that the
whole 300-kilometers-long part of the valley stretching from
Sully-sur-Loire to Chalonnes-sur-Loire, is included into the list of
UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The major part of the Loire castles was built in the Middle Ages but
rebuilt during the Renaissance period, when the French kings took a
fancy of this region and chose this place for their residences. During
the First World War some of the castles were functioning as military
hospitals. And during the Second World War the castles managed to
survive, although they were located at the demarcation line, and now we
can fully assess the grandeur of the Châteaux of the Loire Valley.

We shall begin our virtual trip with castles which destiny is related to
female names. One of them is Château de Chenonceaux located near a small
village having the same name in the Indre-et-Loire département of the
Loire Valley. People usually call it "the Ladies' castle", and there is
a reason for that.

[{Image src='01_Chateau de Chenonceaux.jpg' caption='Château de Chenonceaux' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='540'}]

Since the 13th century a military fortress had been standing here, but
two centuries later these lands were purchased by the royal chamberlain
Thomas Bohier, who demolished the fortress to build an entirely new
residence. But the process of building it was almost fully overseen by
his wife, while Thomas himself was constantly absent due to his
assignment.

In the middle of the 16th century the castle was seized from Bohier's
son by King Francis I of France, who enjoyed visiting this château with
his attendants. Among them were his son, the king to come Henry II, and
an eminent noblewoman Diane de Poitiers.

The affair of Henry and Diane is one of the most known love stories in
the world (in particular, it became the basis for the novel "The Two
Dianas" by Alexander Dumas). They first met when Henry was six: a
25-year-old beauty kissed the boy and he decided to become her knight
for ever and ever. Even having married Catherine de' Medici, Henry II
did not forget his passion, and despite a 19-years difference in age, he
continued to show his affection to Diane. Among numerous gifts given to
her, there was the Château de Chenonceaux, regardless of all existed
property laws.

[{Image src='02_Chateau de Chenonceaux.jpg' caption='Château de Chenonceaux' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='860'}]

Diane turned out to be a good landlady: in 1551 she initiated renovation
works, including the reorganisation of the park and fruit garden. By her
order the depth of the river Cher was measured and the arched bridge to
the opposite bank was built according to the plan of the architect
Philibert de l'Orme.

Soon after the death of King Henry II, Diane was forced to return the
castle to his wife. The following owner after the death of Catherine de'
Medici was Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont, the wife of King Henry III.
This lady is widely known as "The White Queen": at an early age she
became a widow, and over a period of twelve years she had been wearing
white mourning clothes, according to an ancient tradition. After her
death the château went to Françoise de Mercœur, wife of César de
Vendôme, who was an illegitimate child of the King. Since that time the
Kings of France had left the Chenonceaux.

In 1733 the castle was sold to a wealthy squire Claude Dupin. His wife,
known for being an admirer of arts, opened a literary salon at the
Chenonceaux. A century later, the castle was acquired by Madame Pelouze,
who commissioned restoration works in order to return the initial look
to the castle. Nowadays Chenonceaux belongs to the Menier family, who
purchased it in the end of the 19th century. The castle is entirely
restored and now open for tourists.

The Château de Cheverny, located at the commune bearing the same name in
the Sologne region, was given by Henry II to Diane de Poitiers too, but
comparing to Chenonceaux, it has not remained in its initial form. The
castle that we can presently see was entirely rebuilt in the first half
of the 17th century in a late Renaissance style. The castle resembles
the Luxembourg Palace in Paris, because the project was entrusted to
Jacques Bougier — an apprentice of Salomon de Brosse, who guided the
creation of the residence in Paris.

[{Image src='03_Chateau de Cheverny.jpg' caption='Château de Cheverny' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='302'}]

In the beginning of the 17th century a Shakespeare-worthy drama took
place in the Château de Cheverny. Henri Hurault, a then-owner of the
castle, caught his wife with her lover. After murdering the lover, Henri
forced his wife to choose death by poison or by blade; she chose a
bottle of poison. King Henry IV, who reigned at that time, did not
approve that kind of punishment and forced him to stay inside the
castle, without possibility to come out to the court. Staying inside,
Henri managed to marry again, and a new mistress of the castle,
Marguerite, took care of the Cheverny. She initiated the restoration
works and expansion of the castle. By 1650 the interiors of the castle
had been completed by Marquise de la Morinière, daughter of Marguerite
and Henri.

In 1802 the circumstances forced the Hurault family to sell the
property, but soon after the Napoleonic Wars they brought it back. In
1914 the owners of Cheverny opened it to the public, ones of the first
in France to do so.

The history of the Château de Villandry, lying 15 kilometres away from
the city of Tours, does not feature such violent passions, but this
palace will provide a romantic atmosphere better than other castles.

[{Image src='04_Chateau de Villandry.jpg' caption='Château de Villandry' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='435'}]

In the 12th century these lands were the fortress of Colombiers, but
four centuries later its new owner, Jean Le Breton, France's Secretary
of State under King Francis I, decided to build a new magnificent castle
that would outstand other medieval fortresses. The most ancient
constructions of Colombiers, with the only exception of the main tower
(donjon), were destroyed and in 1536 the building of a new castle in
Renaissance style began.

Thanks to one of the following owners, Jerome Bonaparte, the brother of
Napoleon, the castle became a gorgeous château, as it had to correspond
the emperor's tastes. But a larger contribution was made by the Carvallo
family, who purchased the castle in the beginning of the 20th century.
In order to return the initial look to the Villandry, they rebuilt the
arcades and recreated the gardens.

The garden complex is arranged at three levels, each one raising above
the previous. The lower terrace is a kitchen garden, the upper one is
occupied by fruit trees, and in between there is the "Love Garden",
visually continuing the first level. Flowers in four beds lying close to
château are cut to form love allegories. Ball masks and hearts separated
by flames symbolize passionate love; fans and yellow colours symbolize
fickleness of the sentiments and unfaithfulness; hearts pierced by
arrows remind of tenderness and sensibility; and finally, tragic love is
illustrated by blades of daggers. In summer, the flowers turn red to
symbolize the bloodshed in the duels.

[{Image src='05_Villandry garden complex.jpg' caption='Villandry garden complex' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='432'}]

Colourful flowerbeds, fountains, ponds, labyrinthic lanes and more — the
gardens of Villandry are the great example of the French landscape art.
In order to fully appreciate the design of the creators you have to look
at it from above, and AirPano panoramas are the best for this purpose.

But our virtual trip along the Loire Valley is not over: next time you
will find out what is the relation between the castles of Loire and the
famous Leonardo da Vinci.

\\ \\
[13 Panoramas of Chateaux of the Loire Valley 1|Geography/Europe/France/Pictures/Panoramas_of_Chateaux_of_the_Loire_Valley_1]










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