A look into history of France from castles of Loire Valley - noble life in castle of Cheverny
2023-07-24
In first three issues of Salsa, everyone saw three castles in Loire Valley:
Chambord, king of castles (please see one of ancient castles in Loire Valley - a folded fairy tale dream in Chambord)
The "Royal Castle" of castle of Blois (see second castle in Loire Valley - bloody past of castle of Blois)
"Terrible step by step" by Shannon Caubourg (see third castle in Loire Valley - story of palace battle in Shannon Caubourg)
If these castles satisfy your imagination of French royal palaces, then Chateau de Cheverny holds hundreds of years of succession history from feudal aristocratic families.
Cheverny Chateau is located just an hour from Chambord. This small but exquisite family castle was built in sixteenth century. It appears countless times in people's imagination of aristocratic life. The most direct should be called image of Moranz Castle in animated film "The Adventures of Tintin". At entrance to castle, a sign "The Adventures of Tintin" was placed, which instantly brought our memories back to childhood.
Cheverny is still private property of Vibraye family. A nobleman since time of Philip VI in thirteenth century, this member of Marquis's family served several times as Minister of Finance and Administration to King of France. And finally, he built iconic family castle during time of Francis I. Although it changed hands several times, it eventually returned to original family of buildings in nineteenth century. And it became first private mansion open to public in early 20th century. You can find a blue cross on castle owner's family crest inside castle.
Promotional color industry of castle of Cheverny, upper left - emblem of family of castle
Compared to Chambord, which has only been inhabited for a few years since its completion, most interesting thing about Chateau Cheverny is interior space, which fully captures development and changes of family over course of a century. It should not be a copy of what it was, it has always been what it should have been. This makes it a living fossil of European aristocratic decoration. If you don't understand what interior designers mean by 'European classic', most visceral experience you'll have is when you head to Chateau de Cheverny. When French government restored interior structure of Palace of Versailles, they referred to interior display style of Château de Cheverny.
The reception hall is full of luxurious decorations and paintings, almost all work of medieval masters
The bedroom of castle owner, simple but modern elements
Small living room
Children's room
Each visit to castle begins with a staircase. The interior of Château de Cheverny is a pristine Louis XIII corner-to-straight staircase, decorated with carved designs popular in seventeenth century. It can be seen that although castle was built in sixteenth century, subsequent generations continued to add new artistic elements to make it what it is today.
The man who gave Cheverny an artistic soul was John Meunier of Blois. He studied in Renaissance Italy and participated in interior decoration of Chambord. In fact, many of magnificent frescoes in Château de Cheverny are his. At that time, architect had to be, first of all, an outstanding master of art.
The frescoes in luxurious restaurant are work of Mounier. The walls of dining room are decorated with 34 frescoes. If you love reading world famous novels, you should be able to recognize them. These are scenes from novel Don Quixote, created by Spanish writer Vansetes in 17th century. century.
The Armorial Hall at Cheverny Castle is largest room in castle. The decoration here has never been seriously updated, and large fresco "Death of Adonis" above fireplace is original work of master Mounier. Most of weapons on display in hall are armor, longswords and crossbows from 15th and 16th centuries. There are stocks of owner of castle and other collections collected by owner. In medieval Europe, fighting spirit was confessed by every noble family. Fencing became one of compulsory courses for every nobleman.
French nobles in Middle Ages may not be able to imagine love of hunting for modern people, and a hall that displays results of hunt in atmosphere is also needed.
The corridor with famous paintings of famous people once again demonstrates pink girlish feelings of French
Henry IV once stayed at Cheverny Castle, which was also highest favor granted by king to ministers at time. The royal hall, specially arranged in castle, restores scene when king settled in it. The ornate curtain for king's bed, kneeling chair from Henry III period, and group of upholstered armchairs from Louis XIV period are all original.
The bedroom where king stayed
With exception of visiting area on central axis of castle, castle owners of this generation still live in outbuildings on both sides of castle. , Some scenes from life are also open to public. Numerous photographs of family life fill entire castle with atmosphere of everyday life. His beautiful mistress, twin daughters and beautiful son are impressive. In open area inside castle, you can even visit their owner's wedding room and admire hostess' magnificent wedding dress when they got married over 20 years ago.
On a sunny day in front of panoramic windows, you can enjoy a cup of French afternoon tea and listen to melodic piano music. Under decoration of green garden, life in castle seemed to boil. feeling of comfort and luxury.
But real owner of castle is not so comfortable. According to French government's decree on historic buildings, these ancient castles cannot be easily converted, and maintenance and operation of entire castle must meet official standards (think pruning and maintenance of Nanuo gardens, maintenance of huge buildings). ...), otherwise official Right to dispose of old castles, which are historical relics. Since cost of maintenance is very high, there were cases when owner of castle could not continue to work and was forced to sell castle at a low price. Don't get too excited if you bought such a big estate downstairs (some Chinese people came here to buy a castle). It is impossible to turn castle into a profitable project (visit sights or wineries that produce wine), and the huge operating costs are also a huge burden.
In addition to castle, don't forget to have a drink at a nearby winery. The fine wines of Loire Valley have been drunk by French and British upper class for hundreds of years. Between cups and cups, fame and fortune fade with years, and only French tenderness, besieged by time, remains in name of art.
In addition to four castles featured in Salsa, there are many more stories to explore in almost 2,000 castles in Loire Valley. Friends who are interested in history and architecture can bring more surprises.
Stay at home with peace of mind, salsa will show you world with words and old pictures. Where will you go first at next stop? Welcome message upon request