Chambord Castle

Chambord Castle (Château de Chambord) is the pearl of the French Renaissance, after the Louvre it is the second most visited French palace. Chambord is located in the Loir-et-Cher department, 180 km from Paris.

First of all, the castle is known for the fact that its architect was Leonardo da Vinci himself - for two years he was preparing the project, until his death. The palace itself was conceived by King Francis I as a hunting residence - the surrounding lands occupied about 100 hectares of forests and fields, which provided excellent conditions for hunting.

Originally this land belonged to the Counts de Blois. Here they built a feudal castle, which in 1397, along with all the count's possessions, passed to the Dukes of Orleans. In 1498, Louis d'Orléans became king of France, Louis XII, and the land, together with a small fortified castle, ended up in the possession of the French royal house. The castle that we see now was built in the 16th century. under the direct supervision of the French king Francis I.

One of the attractions of the Chambord Castle is the Double Spiral Staircase by Leonardo Da Vinci. Its main feature is that those who go up and down the stairs do not intersect with each other. Chambord Castle has 77 staircases.

Spiral Staircase in the form of a double spiral designed by Leonardo Da Vinci

The official date of birth of Chambord is September 6, 1519. Since that day, a large-scale construction project has been unfolding in Chambord. Construction began with the destruction of many buildings, including the old castle of the Counts de Blois and the city church, and the erection of the foundations of a square donjon surrounded by 4 towers.

A film about the history of its creation and development is tingled in one of the halls of the castle. Although the film is in French, much is clear and so, in particular the architectural plans, from which the ingenious idea of ​​the entire project is visible.

Chambord Castle impresses with its grandeur and size. It has 440 rooms and 74 stairs.

Here, in the presence of the royal retinue, the first performance of Moliere's comedy "Bourgeois in the Nobility" took place.

Around the castle on 5,500 hectares is a park, fenced by a wall with a length of 32 km.

There are several hotels and restaurants in the village of Chambord. Chambord Castle is the largest and most visited of the Loire castles in the Loire-e-Cher department. The second floor of the castle houses the Hunting and Nature Museum. The castle also hosts regular exhibitions.

We offer full-day live guided trips to the Loire Castles from Paris with a visit to three Castles: Chenonceau, Amboise and Chambord.

• Official website: https://www.chambord.org/fr
• Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Château_de_Chambord

Karen Goncharov

Author