Château de Chambord

France's Loire River valley is home to beautiful châteaux.  

A view of the Loire River

Many châteaux there are large, stately mansions that once belonged to French nobility.  

We recently traveled to two châteaux with visiting friend Melinda.  Susan and Melinda have known each other since meeting in Atlanta nearly three decades ago.  We visited both the Château de Chambord and the Château de Chenonceau.

You already know from a recent Pop Quiz that French King Francois I started construction of the Château de Chambord in 1519.  Consequently, the château is celebrating its 500th anniversary with special exhibits.  

French King Francois I

Before beginning a photographic tour, a word about France's chateaux . . . Over the past decades, France has worked hard to restore the many historic chateaux around the county, including Versailles, Chambord and many others.  Decades ago, many of the buildings were in poor condition and empty, devoid of any furniture or other decoration.  Over time, the chateaux have been restored, re-furnished and redecorated.  The funding for preservation of France's patrimoine (patrimony or heritage) has come from many sources: the French government, UNESCO, generous donors in France and beyond, and even the national lottery of France.  The effort continues.  

The restoration effort at Château de Chambord has yielded beautiful results.  The luster of the chateau's architecture has been restored, the gardens are beautiful, and some of its interior decoration has been recovered, including furniture, tapestries and artifacts from the 1500's.  

So, let's begin a photographic tour so that you can see for yourself.     

Château de Chambord

The restored garden of the Château de Chambord.  The property was large, 13,000 acres.  The surrounding forest was the scene of daily hunts.  

Another view of the garden

The garden features lovely flower beds.

An ornamental wet moat borders one side of the château.

The Château de Chambord was built in the Renaissance style.  It has elements of Greek and Roman architecture and many of the features are symmetrical, as evident in the photo below.  .  

We toured the courtyard of the château and spotted some interesting features, like the famous Escher-like stairway pictured below.  

We also toured the roof the château.  We learned that the roof terraces and adjacent rooms were once the scene of all-night parties.  

The roof has a lot of architectural ornamentation.  Many are tall chimneys, some of which actually served as chimneys while others were purely decorative.  

The lantern pictured above caps the top of the central staircase.

Inside the château are more interesting features, like the central stairway supposedly based on a design by a friend of King Francois I.  That friend, Leonardo da Vinci, worked for the king during the last years of his career.  Da Vinci died the same year that construction on this stairway started. 

Another view of the stairway and a view of a large barrel-vaulted room.  

King Francois I (pictured below) used the château as his royal residence for part of each year, before relocating to another royal residence in the Loire valley. 

As part of the 500th anniversary celebration of the château, the bedchamber of Francois has been created.   

The exhibition also featured clothing of Francois I, including armor and everyday wear.

 

In the photo above, you will see the codpiece if you look carefully. 
The codpiece was fashionable in the 1400's and 1500's and enclosed the crown jewels.  

We toured the château's large chapel, which was tranquil.

In the chapel is a statue of Madame Elisabeth, Louis XVI's sister. 
Executed during the Terror, she has been considered by some as a martyr. 

A 17th theater in the château has been recreated.

Thanks for visiting the Château de Chambord with us and celebrating its 500th anniversary.    

Next Up:  The Château de Chenonceau.