Chenonceau, the Fairytale Castle

Château de Chenonceau was the third and final stop on our Loire tour. They saved the best for last.

The first Château de Chenonceau was built sometime in the 11th century, but was burned to the ground in 1412 as a means of punishing its current owner for an act of sedition. He rebuilt a castle on the site in 1430, only to have to immediately sell it because he was so in debt. The new owner promptly destroyed it and built his own, and therefore much better, version between 1515-1521. In 1535 King François I (the one with the quaint hunting lodge) decided he wanted the castle (and really, who wouldn't?) so he seized it on grounds of "unpaid debts to the Crown." When his son, Henri II, inherited it, he gave it to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers, who decided that this one was juuuust right.

When Henri II died, his wife, Catherine de' Medici, who also thought it was just right, promptly descended on the castle and booted Diane out, forcing the poor girl to go live in one of her myriad other castles.

When her daughter-in-law inherited Chenonceau, the fairytale castle took a grim turn. It was while at Chenonceau that she learned of her husband's assassination. To quote the very scholarly Wikipedia, "she fell into a state of depression, spending the remainder of her days wandering aimlessly along the château's vast corridors dressed in mourning clothes amidst somber black tapestries stitched with skulls and crossbones." Her bedroom took "late Gothic" to a new level.

In WWI it was used as a hospital, and in WWII it was used as an escape route to the 'free' side of the river.

Alright, enough with the history lesson. Photo time!

The 3D puzzle doesn't do it justice.

Part of the gardens.

The well and the entrance to the really big tower. It made me think of Snow White.

The chapel

One of the cheery bedrooms.

I get very excited about medieval and Renaissance floor tiles.

This is the rather clever mark of Henri II. The H is clear enough, but one could never be quite sure if the other letters were intended as a mirrored C (for his wife, Catherine) or a mirrored D (for his mistress, Diane).


All decked out for Christmas.

A (faux) Christmas feast

 And here is one of my favorite shots I took of the castle!