2023-07-16
Perhaps smallest elements of fairy-tale world are mysterious castles and beautiful princesses. And almost all of these fantasies of fairytale castles and princesses originate in the Loire Valley in France.
Chambord, most beautiful castle in Loire Valley
The trip from Paris to Loire Valley takes only an hour and a half. This is birthplace of Valois dynasty in France, and closest group of medieval castles to Paris. From Louis XII in 15th century to French Revolution in 18th century, kings of Paris and countless nobles used it as a summer palace and a comfortable back garden. The riches of all France and skillful craftsmen of all Europe were gathered to create here, one after another, beautiful palaces-castles. The gothic style of native France, features of Italian Renaissance architecture and elements of Iberian Peninsula ... blended together to create pinnacle of medieval European castle architecture.
The small town of Blois is central town of River Valley region. It was once the second capital of France.
Blois-sur-Loire
Time is like dust, years are like dust, former kingdom has vanished into thin air. But what remains of this magical valley is not only a breathtaking architectural entity, but also a beautifully reproduced medieval court life.
There are more than 2000 castles in valley. The years of construction and personality of builders are different, so each castle has its own characteristics. Between dome and top of tower, development and changes of architectural art are described, countless intrigues and ups and downs of families are recorded in spiral staircase of palace. Nowadays, some castles already belong to France and have been turned into museums of medieval architecture and art, but there are also lucky nobles who are inherited for hundreds of years, live in family castles passed down by their ancestors, and continue to live for many centuries. hundreds of years of life. For example, Château de Chambord, a master of architecture, Château de Blois, a model of royal castles, Château Shennonsau, a women's castle, and Château Cheverny, a living fossil of noble life...
The trip from Paris to Chambord takes about 2-3 hours
The golden iris [yuan] pictured below, which is a symbol of French royal family in Middle Ages and is still national flower of France, can be seen everywhere in historical places of France. From time of first French king during time of Frankish kingdom, it was considered a symbol of French royal family.
Since it and lilies belong to different genera of order Lilium, many people in Europe intentionally do not distinguish between iris and lily, so even many French people recognize this as incorrect. But you can see that lilies have six petals and irises have three petals and three petals.
Golden Iris
Our history begins with most representative Château de Chambord. Maybe you were not here, but his image should have appeared before your eyes. The magnificent and artistic appearance of this castle has appeared countless times in photographs, paintings, films and television. It can be called a model of European castles. The French call him "the king of castle".
Chambord in water reflection
The square base and dome combined with hundreds of cones are majestic and varied. Looking down from air, it is a two-story square structure nested inside and out, and four corners are rounded halls, proportions of which are strictly maintained according to golden ratio, which allows you to feel creative artistic aesthetics of architect.
Chambord was originally built as a royal hunting palace. King of France of sixteenth century - Francis I, "Maniac to repair locks."
This is a very interesting king. Before ascending throne, he was Duke of Wallava, and his fiefdom was in Loire Valley. In east he fought against Charles V of Germany, and in west against Spain. Chan Chang likes to take lead, which is why he has title of "Knight King". However, his good reputation was damaged by Battle of Pavia on battlefield in Italy, and he was captured by Charles V. Once captured, François I signed a number of articles unfavorable to France and pawned his two sons before he was finally released. However, when he returned to France, he signed a decree that king was forced to sign an invalidation, fully repaying his debts, and made his son a hostage for several years, which subsequently made Henry II hate his father.
The one in center is Francis I, who French have a big nose, which is why he is also called "Big Nose"
However, Francis I is not known for his martial arts. He is considered king who led French Renaissance. He boldly introduced architectural and artistic style of Italian Renaissance, breaking with traditional French Gothic architecture and creating unique and alternative architectural features of Chambord. This also makes it one of most beautiful castles in France.
The unique interest of "Castle Maniac" in Italian Renaissance is not limited to Chambord, he almost rebuilt in style of Italian Renaissance all royal castles of France, from Louvre to Fontainebleau, from Fort Chambord to Castle of Madrid. He contributed almost single-handedly to rise of French Renaissance movement. This brought him great fame in French literary circles. Known as a patron of literature and art.
Francis I Gallery at Fontainebleau
Whether at Château de Fontainebleau or Saint-Germain-en-Laye, or even on many fireplaces, you can find his personal logo, fire-breathing salamander. Is that also a bit like a Chinese dragon? This salamander is also a fire-breathing beast in French mythology. François I chose this as his symbol and he also has a personal motto associated with it: "Nourish good with fire and purify evil."
Fire-breathing salamander icon
Fire-breathing salamander in Château de Blois
François I's hobby besides fighting was hunting. This shallow marshland in Loire Valley has always been hunting ground of royal family. Initially, it was just a small fortress built temporarily. It may seem to King of Knights that this does not correspond to my status as king of most powerful country in Europe, so I conceived idea of building a palace that could not only show national strength, but also be full of charm.
The most notable feature of castle is internal double helix staircase, this unique design comes from most famous "Almighty Monster" of Middle Ages in West, Leonardo da Vinci. François I admired da Vinci so much that he felt like father and son. In end, da Vinci also died in arms of Francis I.
Da Vinci not only brought Renaissance art to Loire Valley, but also combined his genius beyond time. This double helix ladder is very similar to double helix structure of DNA molecules. It is said that staircase is arranged in such a way that king and his servants walk on different steps so that they do not meet each other; of course, it is also said that queen and king's mistress will not meet each other. another. To put it more gracefully, when king and queen walk on different spiral staircases, they may meet each other through hollow in middle, but never meet - such is implicit expression of French novel.
There are more than one hundred and forty rooms in castle. Now main open lines cover more than 60 of most important. There are free Chinese guides and you can take a tour of designated route according to your time and interests. Of course, you can also maintain a mysterious curiosity, roam intricate castle, and enjoy traveling through time and space.
Corridors in main castle of Chambord, hollow windows with geometric patterns - a favorite decoration of Renaissance. Through it, you can see entire courtyard and large garden, which is also full of geometric patterns.
The restored bedroom of Francis I is worth a stop. The original owner of this castle almost never lived here. It is used solely to demonstrate national power. The artistic essence of that era is formed in castle and revealed to modern people.
Bedroom of Francis I
You might wonder why this room is done in red and gold, yes, it is also an alternative style of French royal family. The rooms of kings and princes are dominated by bright colors such as red and gold, while rooms of queens and princesses in harem, as a rule, cool colors such as blue predominate in this style. Perhaps in values of French royal family, blood and adventure belong to men, and women are better off staying in the harem. The similarities and differences between Eastern and Western cultures also reflect different effects in this small room.
Bedroom of Francis I
The longest-serving French king in Chambord must be Louis XIV, who belonged to Bourbon dynasty after Valois dynasty. The "Sun King", who ruled France for over 70 years, completely transformed system of French feudal lords into a centralized method, and his martial arts and martial arts are unparalleled in history of French feudalism.
Portrait of Louis XIV
The seventy-two years of reign of Louis XIV also set record for longest reign in European history, so that his successors were not sons and grandsons, but great-grandchildren who directly inherited him, and he was also a pioneer of ultra-long standby. For comparison, current Queen of England this year was only 68 years old. Louis XIV was somewhat similar to his contemporary eastern ruler, Emperor Kangxi of Qing Dynasty. What's even more surprising is that there's also a "diplomatic honeymoon" between two that is often overlooked in history books, which is unique in the history of China's closed door policy.
Sun King Logo
The bedroom of Louis XIV and two royal halls for receptions are also most magnificent rooms of Chambord. All three rooms are decorated in bright red tones, embellished with gold and white. He shows greatness and glory of Sun King.
Louis XIV's bedroom
Reception Hall of King Louis XIV
Bedroom of Queen Louis XIV. The main body is made in blue tones. The shade of peacock blue is both noble and calm. Portraits of queen and tapestries hang on walls. The room also has a small bed where maid sleeps and is cleaned during day.
Queen bedroom
Queen bedroom
Queen Louis XIV came from Spanish branch of Habsburg family (the origin of Habsburg family is actually Austria, and this is also a legend. She ruled all royal harems in Europe through marriage), their families and relationship of French Bourbon dynasty can be described as confusing. In fact, she and Louis XIV have a double blood relationship (his father is her mother's brother and his mother is her father's sister, and I was stunned too). It was very common among medieval European royalty. But this also had serious consequences: although Louis XIV couple had three sons and three daughters, only one son grew up.
In lobby on third and fourth floors, old shampoo photos are displayed in black and white, quietly telling stories of past.
Old photo exhibition
Gallery
Museum of Antiques
After France became a republic, royal estates such as Chambord were nationalized. The current Chambord and lands adjacent to it belong to a single "national territory", somewhat similar to Chinese national parks.
Chambord and its associated forests cover an area of more than 5400 hectares, which is almost equal to area of the main city of Paris. Palace buildings are actually only a small part. The largest area is a wildlife sanctuary outside palace. All types of moose, wild boars and rabbits thrive in protected area, restoring original ecological environment.
It seems that whole territory has been revived in state in which it was many centuries ago. The hooves of pony carriages inside castle seem to carry people through fog back to original hunting grounds of royal family.
Garden in backyard of Chambord
In next issue you will get acquainted with bloody past of Royal Castle of Blois.
Stay at home with peace of mind, Salsa will show you world with words and old pictures.