Paris1972-Versailles2003

So written before on the castle in an introductory post. Now , I have come back this week to it and will post several new posts and pictures of the wonderful Château de Chenonceau, the castle! Yes love castles and lucky to be in prime region just less than 4 hrs from my house. Hope you enjoy the posts as will try to break them down as shown; this one will be on the castle interior’s.

Some of the text will be repeated as really once you do an introductory post not much left to tell and can’t tell you all lol!! Here I go folks!  I am taking you down to the fairy tale castle of the ladies! The town and castle has a peculiarity of the name but that is just history (see post) . The place of course was visited again with next text and pictures, I am talking about the Château de Chenonceau at the village of Chenonceaux! 

The Château de Chenonceau  goes thru many changes of hands and a legal battle to gain title to the property by heirs of  Thomas Bohier, he finally marries a one Catherine Briçonnet (the first lady of the story of the castle) , which does lots of work on the property until her death in 1526. Due to bad finances and no taxes paid, the king François I takes the property in 1535.  Later king Henri II gives it to his favorite lady Diane de Poitiers (see my post on Anet) ,she ,also, does lots of work on the castle. After the death of Henri II in a duel in 1559, the crown finds a way again to take the property back, this time is Catherine de Medici. You have a continuation history of woman relating to the castle such as  Louise de Lorraine wife of king Henri III where the bedroom in the 2nd floor shows on the door the deuil of her assassinated husband in 1589. She lived here until her death surrounded by religious sisters that took domicile at the castle, turning it into some form of convent after the death of Catherine. A room dedicated to the daughters and daughters in laws of Catherine de Medicis, the chambre des Cinq Reines  or bedroom of five queens (Marie Stuart, Marguerite de France  (queen Margot), Louise de Lorraine, Elizabeth of Austria, and Elizabeth of France). From the bedroom of the ladies in the history of the castle to the room of king Louis XIV, the place is just gorgeous and a must visit.

The Grand Gallery was done in 1576 upon the wishes of Catherine de Medici. It measures 60 meters long, 6 meters wide, and 18 windows. It was open officially in 1577 during festivities honoring her son Henri III. Each end wonderful Renaissance fireplaces. Early 19C, the gallery was decorated with medallions representing famous historical figures. It was here that the original military hospital of Mr Menier was put up for WWI. In WWII, the river Cher was the demarcation point of Petain’s France and occupied nazi France.The entrance to the castle was in the occupied zone. The gallery south door gave access to the left bank of the Cher river and made it possible for the Resistance to pass large numbers of people into this free zone.

You have the wonderful Guards’ room with a 16C fireplace and hanging tapestries from the 16C as well. The chests are Gothic and Renaissance periods,on the floor are the remains of 16C majolica tiles!

And we move on to the Chapel, going thru a door with the statue of the Virgin, dominating the nave is the Royal Gallery bearing the date of 1521, from where the queens attended Mass. Several religious paintings adorn the walls. The Chapel was saved from the French revolution by the owner at the time Madame Dupin (see post) to turn it into a wood store, thus camouflaging its religious character.

You see Diane de Poitiers’ bedroom. When Henri II donated the castle to her. The fireplace has the initial of H and C for Henri and Catherine but when interwined can form the D of Diane de Poitiers!

The Katherine Briçonnet hall, on the first floor (2nd US) tiled with small baked clay tiles stamped with the fleur de lis pierced by a dagger. There is a suite of six Audenarde tapestries from the 17C representing hunting scenes by Van der Meulan.

The Five Queen’s bedroom in memory to Catherine de Medici’s two daughters and three daughters in laws as above.

The Catherine de  Medici bedroom with a wooden square coiffed ceiling. The coat of arms of the Medici family with in the center the H and C interwoven. Wonderful Flanders tapestries of the 16C illustrating the life of Samson

The César of Vendôme bedroom. Duke of Vendôme, son of king Henri IV and Gabrielle d’Estrées, uncle of Louis XIV, who was owner of Chenonceau in 1624. See the ceiling, Renaissance fireplace, walls of 3 17C Brussels tapestries. One of them Spanish Murillo portrait of Saint Joseph.

The Louise of Lorraine bedroom. She was given the name of white queen for dressing in white according to protocol of royal mourning for the death of husband king Henri III. It has an original ceiling decorated with mourning feathers, with initial of Greek letter Lambda and H for Henri III. The Capuchin nuns, that Louise of Lorraine wished to have near her on the third floor (4th US) did not return to their convent until the 17C.

The Green Room was Catherine de Medici’s study room when she became regent on the death of Henri II. She governed France from this room there are 16C ceilings on their original state and two interwined C of her initial. Several Brussels tapestries from the 16C as well as Italian cabinets 16C and also, several paintings from Tintoretto, Ribera, Van Dyck amongst others.

The Library is a small room and was of Catherine de Medici. The ceiling dates from 1525 Italian style and one of the first coffered ceilings of this type in France. Several paintings here too such as by Jouvenet and Poussin.

The François I drawing room with one of the most splendid fireplaces of the Renaissance. Furniture as far back as the 15C and 16C Italian cabinets. On the wall portrait of Diane de Poitiers as Diane the huntress by Primaticcio given to the castle in 1556 bearing the name of arms of Diane de Poitiers, Duchess of Etampes.Several other paintings as well by Van Dyck, Zurbaran, and Van Loo.

The Louis XIV drawing room was done in memory of the visit to the castle of July 14 1650 by Louis XIV. On the Renaissance fireplace ,the salamander and the stoat bringing back the memory of François I and Queen Claude of France.  Several paintings such as by Rubens, Van Loo, and a large portrait of Sameul Bernard, banker of Louis XIV, this wealthy banker was the father of Madame Dupin who also has a portrait here. She was the grandmother by mariage to George Sand and owner of the castle in the 18C. A defender of the Encyclopedists, she welcome Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu, Diderot, d’Alembert, Fontenelle, and Bernadin de Saint Pierre.  Her kindness and generosity and intelligence save Chenonceau castle from the destructions during the French revolution. Yes indeed!

The official Château de Chenonceau : https://www.chenonceau.com/en

The Touraine Loire Valley tourist office on the castle : https://www.touraineloirevalley.co.uk/cultural-heritage/chateau-of-chenonceau-chenonceaux/

There you go folks, a dandy in the marvelous Loire Valley of my belle France. You need to come to the castle of the ladies, Château de Chenonceau! It is a must me think, Hope you have enjoy this post as I

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!

So written before on the castle in an introductory post. Now , I have come back this week to it and will post several new posts and pictures of the wonderful Château de Chenonceau, the castle! Yes love castles and lucky to be in prime region just less than 4 hrs from my house. Hope you enjoy the posts as will try to break them down as shown; this one will be on the curiosities of Chenonceau castle.

Some of the text will be repeated as really once you do an introductory post not much left to tell and can’t tell you all lol!! Here I go folks!

I am taking you down to the fairy tale castle of the ladies! The town and castle has a peculiarity of the name but that is just history (see post) . The place of course was visited again with next text and pictures, I am talking about the Château de Chenonceau at the village of Chenonceaux! 

You have the Domes building, built by Catherine de Medici with an imperial style roof houses the Queen’s apothecary, and the Domes cellar.

The Queen’s apothecary created by Catherine de Medici, the most illustrious of the ladies of Chenonceau, came to life again on the site where it originally stood. This new museum gallery presents a very rare collection of albarelli, barrel pots, pill boxes, syrup pots, thearic pots, and mortars. The earliest remedies were rather like witch potions, they began to developed herbal preparations much later. An educational room presents the history of apothecaries, and a number of figures in the queen’s entourage. One of these was Nostradamus!

There is the wine cellar which has endured for centuries here. It sits in a historic 16C building with beautiful vaults , contains spaces to discover and also acquire wines from the property such as AOC Touraine Chenonceaux, and other wine related products. We did not go as was closed opens March to November, but we do shop and drink plenty of Touraine wines; our house wines!

There is the Orangerie next to the Green garden created, between the 18C and 19C, originally intended to house oranges and lemon trees during the winter. The Orangerie is now a gastronomic restaurant . Since the Renaissance there has been the tradition at Chenonceau, and the spirit lives on in the Orangerie. There is a tea room next to it, open from mid March to Mid November. As we cut out to eat we did not try here this time.

You can see here and we did the 16C farm including Catherine de Medici’s stables. The building houses in its center a floral workshop. The arrangement on the castle are done here! , They ,also, lit the fires on the castle’s fireplaces .

There is, also, the Carriage Gallery! Located in the large stable of the 16C presenting a collection of both noble and rural horse drawn carriages. Typically, French like the Break, the Tonneau and the English like Tilbury, they are all part of the heritage which is preserve here. They were for the most part used in the 19C and still do in the countryside!

As an anecdote, the Château de Chenonceau, also serve as a hospital in WWI in the stables convertion, and there is a small museum in the Domes building to tell you about this. We saw ,nice!  The story goes that on August 2, 1914, the industrialist Gaston Menier, owner of the Château de Chenonceau, had 120 beds installed at his own expense in the two galleries overlooking the Cher. He also had the medical equipment needed to install several very modern operating rooms for the time. More than two thousand Poilus (2,254 exactly), French soldiers of the Great War or WWI, were hospitalized at the Château de Chenonceau and received care. The military hospital will operate until the end of the conflict and will close its doors on December 31, 1918.

The official Château de Chenonceau: https://www.chenonceau.com/en

The Touraine Loire Valley tourist office on the castle : https://www.touraineloirevalley.co.uk/cultural-heritage/chateau-of-chenonceau-chenonceaux/

There you go folks, a dandy in the marvelous Loire Valley of my belle France. You need to come to the castle of the ladies, Château de Chenonceau! As you can see plenty to see here and is a must to visit me think, Hope you have enjoy this post as I

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!

So written before on the castle in an introductory post. Now , I have come back this week to it and will post several new posts and pictures of the wonderful Château de Chenonceau, the gardens !! Yes love castles and lucky to be in prime region just less than 4 hrs from my house. Hope you enjoy the posts as will try to break them down as shown; this one will be on the castle’s gardens.

I am taking you down to the fairy tale castle of the ladies! The town and castle has a peculiarity of the name but that is just history (see post) . The place of course was visited again with new text and pictures, I am talking about the Château de Chenonceau gardens at the village of Chenonceaux!  They built the castle in the 16C on the river Cher. The couple of Thomas Bohier and Katherine Briçonnet demolished the fortified castle and mill belonging to the Marques family and left standing just the keep, the tour Marques, which they restored in Renaissance style. It is a beautiful castle to see at least once in your lifetime , just awesome. The gardens as just as beautiful me think.

You have Diane’s garden a flowerbed that has remained unchange since the creation by Diane de Poitiers. The Chancellery once the house of Catherine de Medici’s estate steward, looks over this garden. It has two perpendicular and two diagonal paths border with eight large lawned triangles decorated with scrolls of santolina. The raised terrace protect the garden when water levels rise on the river Cher. In Summer, more than a hundred hibiscus syriacus flower here All around the garden, the walls that support the terraces are clad with iceberg climbing roses.

You, also have the Catherine’s garden , a more intimate Queen Catherine de Medici’s garden, a true picture of her refinement Looking over the water and the park, its paths offer magnificent views of the castle façade. Design centered around five lawns, grouped together around an elegant circular pond, and dotted with rounded box hedges. The garden is bordered by a low wall line with pleached clair matin roses that overhangs the moat.  Indeed beautiful!

There is another far away call the Green Garden, done in 1825 by the then owners Countess of Villeneuve who wanted an English garden. There is a renaissance fountain. In the 16C , Catherine de Medici chose this place to house her animals and her aviary. We did not visit as was far than our walks could bear with my Dad in tow with a wheelchair!

We did passed by the Russell Page Garden, which opened in the Summer of 2018. It is an homage to this illustrious landscape gardener the master of many contemporary creators. The fauna of François Xavier Lalanne, sculptor and master bronzier, have come to enrich the flowerbeds of this English style garden. A garden that simply seeks to move us and return us to the spontaneity of our childhood. Nice indeed!

There, is also, a vegetable and flower garden  where birds and animals are free to roam, right next to the donkeys of Chenonceau. There is the maze of 70 acres as desired by Catherine de Medici. We did not stop on these neither.

Ah need to have this anecdote on this post as love the history of it and see my other post. In 1891 Crédit Foncier (a bank) sold the entire estate to José Emilio Terry, (family of Cuban origin, born and died in Paris) son of Tomas Terry (Of Irish paternal descent, Terry was born in Caracas Venezuela died in Paris) and by Teresa Dorticos (born in Cienfuegos Cuba died in Rome Italy). The estate will remain in this family until 1913.

The official Château de Chenonceau: https://www.chenonceau.com/en

The Touraine Loire Valley tourist office on the castle : https://www.touraineloirevalley.co.uk/cultural-heritage/chateau-of-chenonceau-chenonceaux/

There you go folks, a dandy in the marvelous Loire Valley of my belle France. You need to come to the castle of the ladies, Château de Chenonceau! It is a must me think, Hope you have enjoy this post as I

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!