Château de Chambord

Château de Chambord is without a doubt, one of the most remarkable Renaissance castles in France. Many call it the most beautiful Château of the Loire Valley, but all agree that its scale and majesty are impressive.

François the First spent lavishly to realize the project of the Château de Chambord. In fact, the construction of the castle took more than a quarter of a century. Started in 1518, the work was stopped in 1525 when the coffer of the Kingdom was empty. The work could be resumed only in October 1526. From this date forward, one could find up to 2000 workers at the site. Having to give up the crazy project of rerouting the Loire to bring the river to the foot of the castle, François the First did not hesitate to divert one of its tributaries, the Cosson, to come to the Château . The Château was completed in 1547 and contains 440 rooms, 84 staircases, 365 fireplaces (one for each day of the year). It also has stables to accommodate 1200 horses. The domain is surrounded by 32 km of walls, protecting more than 12,000 acres of woods which is a huge hunting reserve whose surface equals that of Paris!

There is no clear answer as to whom the architect of Chambord was, but aside from the medieval French tradition of having cylindrical towers at the corners of the Château , all the speculation seems to suggest the influence of Italian architecture of the Renaissance, and at least one Italian architect name always pops up -- Domenico da Cortona. We also think that Leonardo De Vinci had his hand in the design -- one of the masterpieces of the castle is attributed to Leonardo. It is a double spiral staircase, with each stairway superimposed on the other so that two people can climb or descend simultaneously without ever having to meet. Some say it was designed so the kings wouldn’t have to meet the servants while climbing or descending the stairs. Some say one staircase was for the king’s wife and the other for the king’s mistress. The staircase is located at the intersection of 4 huge rooms forming a cross, is crowned by a Lantern 38m high, and leads to the magnificent rooftop terraces. In her time, Catherine de Medicis, passionate with astrology, would often climb to the lantern in order to consult the stars.

The Castle and the Countess

François the First spared no expense to build the château. He wanted to build an imposing castle to affirm his power toward the Church, which was still very influent at that time. He also needed a castle large enough to accommodate his court on his hunting trips. He was usually accompanied by a huge procession of courtiers and servants when he visited the castle --several thousand people. But history also suggests another reason for the locale of such a lavish weekend retreat for a king. Nearby lived an attractive countess -- the Countess of Thoury. Perhaps the abundance of game was not the only reason of his choice of this place, and perhaps the king was trying to impress more than his court with the scope of the project.

A Castle for the Week End

Chambord was never an inhabited castle, and was only used for a few weeks a year for hunting trips. With the means of that time, it was very difficult to maintain, impossible to heat in winter, (all the wood from the surrounding forest would not have been enough), and the atmosphere was often oppressive due to the stagnant water. Nevertheless, when a sovereign chose to bring his court to the castle, it was a true expedition. The royal coaches and carts would be piled high with furniture, tapestries, carpets, paintings, clothing and lavish provisions. The peasants of the region would follow the entourage for miles, bringing the normally bland and quiet region surrounding the castle to life, with almost a feeling of carnival. The castle passed through many hands throughout the centuries, but few had as much influence as Maurice de Saxe. The illegitimate son of Frederic-Auguste, the future King of Poland, de Saxe was a valorous war hero and excellent strategist. He won many victories, among them the one of Fontenoy in August 1745, and as a consequence, he won the unlimited friendship of the King Louis XV. In recognition for his services to France, Louis XV offered him a comfortable pension that today would be evaluated at several million euros. He also received the immense and rare honor of being entitled to enter Versailles in a coach and of being admitted to the king’s inner circle, allowing him to be present at his Majesty’s levee and going-to-bed ceremonies. As a gift, the king also offered him Chambord and ordered that all the improvements were to be done according to the Marechal’s taste. Huge amounts of money were spent for the renovations of the rooms and the building of a fairy-tale theatre. 114 roads were built through the surrounding forest to satisfy the new owner’s passion for horses and hunting. Maurice de Saxe lived there only two years (1749 and 1750), but during this time he lived in such an elaborate lifestyle that he left nothing to envy of Versailles.

One of the emblems of the French Kingdom that can be found in Chambord, and in any royal setting, is the "Fleur de Lys". Since the times of Antiquity, it has been the symbol of divinity and fecundity. Cultivated in the Royal gardens of the Carolingian’s times, the Fleurs de Lys appeared on the crowns and scepters of the sovereigns in the paintings of the IXth century. These ornaments were kept as the symbol of the Kings power. The word "Ly", which in Celtic means "sovereign", was chosen. Later, when the coat of arms came to be, the kings kept the flowers as their emblems. Charles the Fifth is the one who fixed the number of flowers used in the fleur de Lys to three in the XIVth century.

Like a child carving in his desk at school, François the First took every opportunity to embellish the castle with the letter "F", for François the First, and also with a stylized Salamander, his emblematic animal. Still today, you will see these F’s and salamanders around the castle, especially on the decorated vaults of the third floor. As the symbol of fire and cold, the salamander was François’ chosen symbol. This animal could live in the fire without being consumed, but it could also extinguish the fire due to the exceptional coldness of its body. In the medieval iconography the salamander represents "the just who never loses God’s confidence in the middle of tribulations." François the First adapted this motto for himself: "I live among it and extinguish it". The Loire Valley Chambord is probably the most majestic of the châteaux in the Loire Valley and we highly recommend the thrill of wandering along the huge halls full of royal history, of strolling in the park to spot a deer or wild boar at sunrise or sunset, or enjoying the fabulous equestrian "Son et Lumiere" spectacle in full Renaissance and Louis XIV costumes, from May to September. But the entire Loire Valley definitely holds a large part of French history. Do not forget that Chenonceau, Azay-le-Rideau, Amboise and many other prestigious castles are within one hour drive from Chambord and are worth to visit too!
Article courtesy of myfrenchstore.com