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The A château ( French for castle; plural châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of gentry, usually French, with or without fortifications. ...châteaux of the Loire Valley (French Vallée de la Loire) is known as the Garden of France and the Cradle of the French Language. ...Loire Valley (Val de Loire) number more than 300. They represent a nation of builders starting with the necessary castle fortifications in the ( 9th century _ 10th century _ 11th century _ other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 10th century was that century which lasted from 901 to 1000. ...10th century to the splendor of those built a thousand years later. When the French kings began constructing their huge châteaux here, the nobility, not wanting or even daring to be far from the seat of power, followed suit. Their presence in the lush, fertile valley with its moderate climate, began attracting the very best landscape designers. Before long, and to this day, the valley of the Loire is known as the "Garden of France".
History
By the middle of the 16th century, Francis I, Renaissance prince, lover of women, patron of the arts Francis I (French: François Ier) (September 12, 1494 _ July 31, 1547), called the Father and Restorer of Letters (French: le Père et Restaurateur des Lettres), was crowned King of France in 1515 in the cathedral at Reims...King Francois I, had shifted the center of power in France from the Loire back to the ancient capital of Paris. With him went the great architects, but the Loire Valley continued to be the place where most of the French royalty preferred to spend the bulk of their time. The ascension of Louis XIV King of France and Navarre By Hyacinthe Rigaud (1701) Louis XIV (Louis_Dieudonné) (September 5, 1638–September 1, 1715) reigned as King of France and King of Navarre from May 14, 1643 until his death. ...King Louis XIV in the middle of the 17th century made Paris the permanent site for great royal châteaux when he built the Versailles: Louis Le Vau opened up the interior court to create the expansive entrance cour dhonneur, later copied all over Europe The Château de Versailles — often called the Palace of Versailles, or simply Versailles — is a royal château, outside the gates of which the village of Versailles, France, has...Palace of Versailles. Nonetheless, those who gained the king's favour and the wealthy Bourgeois at the end of the thirteenth century. ...bourgeoisie, continued to renovate existing châteaux or build lavish new ones as their summer residence in the Loire.
The The period of the French Revolution in the history of France covers the years between 1789 and 1799, in which democrats and republicans overthrew the absolute monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church was forced to undergo radical restructuring. ...French Revolution saw a number of the great French châteaux destroyed and many ransacked, their treasures stolen. The overnight impoverishment of many of the deposed The Lords and Barons prove their Nobility by hanging their Banners and exposing their Coats_of_arms at the Windows of the Lodge of the Heralds. ...nobility, usually after one of its members lost their head to the Public guillotining in Lons_le_Saunier, 1878 The guillotine is a machine used for the application of capital punishment by decapitation. ...guillotine, saw many châteaux demolished.
The châteaux today Today, these privately owned châteaux serve as homes, a few opening their doors to tourist visits, while others are operated as hotels or bed and breakfasts. Many have been taken over by a local government authority or the giant structures like those at The Royal Château at Chambord, Loir_et_Cher, France, is one of the most recognizable châteaux in the world because of its very distinct French Renaissance architecture that blends traditional medieval forms with classical Italian structures. ...Chambord are owned and operated by the national government and are major tourist sites, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.
Some châteaux - The Royal Château at Amboise is a château located in Amboise, in the Indre_et_Loire département of the Loire Valley in France. ...Château d'Amboise
- The Chateau dAngers is located in the city of Angers in the departement of Maine-et-Loire, in France. ...Château d'Angers
- Château d'Apremont
- Château d'Azay-le-Ferron
- Azay-le-Rideau, viewed across the Indre Azay-le-Rideau, built from 1518 to 1527, is one of the earliest French Renaissance châteaux. ...Château d'Azay_le_Rideau
- Château de Beauregard
- The Royal Château de Blois is located in the Loir-et-Cher département in the Loire Valley, in France. ...Château de Blois
- Château de Bouges
- The Château de la Bourdaisière is a castle in the countryside in the Commune of Montlouis-sur-Loire, in the Indre_et_Loire département of France. ...Château de la Bourdaisière
- The Chateau Brissac in the Commune of Brissac-Quincé, in the département of Maine-et-Loire, France, was originally built as a fortified castle by the Counts of Anjou in the 11th century. ...Château de Brissac
- The Royal Château at Chambord, Loir_et_Cher, France, is one of the most recognizable châteaux in the world because of its very distinct French Renaissance architecture that blends traditional medieval forms with classical Italian structures. ...Château de Chambord
- The Château de Chaumont is a French castle The first château at Chaumont-sur-Loire, Loir-et-Cher, France, originated in the 11th century, built by Eudes II, Count of Blois. ...Château de Chaumont
- Château de Chenonceau as seen from Diane de Poitiers gardens The Chateau de Chenonceau, near the small village of Chenonceaux, in the Indre_et_Loire département of the Loire Valley in France, was built on the site of an old mill on the River Cher, sometime before its...Château de Chenonceau
- The Château de Cheverny is located at Cheverny, in the departement of Loir-et-Cher in the Loire Valley in France. ...Château de Cheverny
- Chinon is a town and commune of the Indre_et_Loire département in France. ...Château Chinon
- Château de Craon
- Chateau de Langeais, Indre_et_Loire, France Le château de Langeais was originally built as a fortress in the 10th century by Foulques Nerra on a promontory created by the small valley of the Roumer River at the opening to the Val de Loire. ...Château de Langeais
- Château du Lude
- The chateau, as seen from the front. ...Château de Loches
- Château de Montgeoffroy
- The Château de Montreuil-Bellay, in the town of Montreuil-Bellay, département of Maine-et-Loire, France, was first built on the site of a Gallo-Roman village high on a hill on the banks of the Thouet River. ...Château de Montreuil_Bellay
- The Château de Montsoreau, in the market town of Montsoreau, Maine-et-Loire, France, was constructed in 1455 by Jean de Chambes, a senior councillor to King Charles VII. Erected on the bank of the Loire river, it was a strategic fortress, controlling river traffic between Chinon and Saumur. ...Château de Montsoreau
- The Château d’Oiron, in the Deux-Sèvres département, of western France has its origins rooted in the 15th century war with the English for control of France when a victorious Charles VII of France gave the domain and great forest of Oiron to Guillaume Gouffier who would become governor of...Château d'Oiron
- Château du Plessis_Bourré
- Located in the French town of Saumur, in the Maine-et-Loire département, the Château de Saumur was originally constructed as a fortified stronghold. ...Château de Saumur
- The Château dUssé is located in the commune of Rigny_Ussé in the Indre_et_Loire departement, in France. ...Château d'Ussé
- Château de Valençay
- Villandry in the departement of Indre_et_Loire is the lands known as Colombier until the 17th century where an ancient fortress once stood. ...Château de Villandry
- Château de Villesavin
External links
See also - A château ( French for castle; plural châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of gentry, usually French, with or without fortifications. ...Château
- The List of castles is a link page for any castle in the sense of a fortified building. ...List of castles
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