Chateau de Chambord
Chateau de Chambord
Dad about to Ring the Doorbell.
Francois I
One of the 440 Rooms.
The Famous Double Staircase.
Louis XIV Ceremonial Bedroom.
Louis XIV Ceremonial Bedroom.
Bust of Louis XIV in his Bedroom.
Louis XIV Ceremonial Bedroom.
The Hunting Room.
On the Roof.
On the Roof.
On the Roof.
On the Roof looking towards the front yard.
To understand Chambord, you have to appreciate the elation and extravagance of Francois I who, at the tender age of twenty-five, wanted to show the world in spectacular fashion what his two favourite pastimes were: hunting and architecture.
The sheer gargantuan scale of the place is awe-inspiring, it is without a doubt a stone colossus. It was originally built as a hunting lodge, however, the cold drafty size of the Chateau made it largely unpopular as an actual residence. The structure contains 440 rooms, 365 fireplaces, 13 great staircases, and stables to accomodate 1200 horses.
The shadow of Leonardo da Vinci, perhaps the official 'architecteur', who died a few months before the construction work began in 1519, hovers over the astonishing and famous double spiral staircase.
Francois I only stayed at the Chateau for a few weeks each year to hunt in the surrounding woods. All the furniture, wall coverings, eating implements and so forth were brought specifically for each hunting trip leaving it devoid of furniture and inhabitants after each visit, a major logistical exercise. After Francois I died in 1547, the Chateau was barely used for almost a century. Chambord was not properly finished until the reign of Louis XIV, who well in love with this presitigous site.
The Chateau is now part of a 5,440 hectare estate, surrounded by a 32 km wall, which makes it the largest enclosed forest park in Europe. Its surface area is practically the same size as inner Paris! It is home to a variety of animals including stag and boar which were the animals Francois I came to hunt, they are now the symbolic species of Chambord.
