Today we went to the second of the two castles that we had earmarked for thorough visits - the Château de Chambord! It was a very nice drive East from Tours for about an hour and a half.
Château de Chambord is the largest château in the Loire Valley; it was built to serve as a hunting lodge for Francis I . François the First is known (per my French civics class) for making French the administrative language (previously Latin).
My main draw was the double spiral staircase! Here's the description from a placard at the castle:
«One of the most curious and remarkable things in the building is the staircase, made in such a way that one person may go up and another down without them ever meeting though they see one another.>> Memoirs of Mademoiselle de Montpensier, 17th century.
Since the 16th century, all eyes have been drawn to it, every visitor entering the keep is fascinated by it: the double spiral staircase at Chambord is in itself a monument.
Unlike most staircases that are built into stonework or jut out from a facade, the double spiral staircase at Chambord is set at the heart of the entire building, at the junction point where the four great rooms meet to form a Greek cross. With the staircase everything falls into place and everything falls into place around the staircase. The staircase is formed by two, identical, twin helicoidal flights of stairs entwined around an empty central nucleus with openwork bays to let in light from the sides. The staircase gives access to the main floors of the keep as far as the roof terrace, from which point it is crowned by the château's highest tower, the lantern tower. This houses a narrow spiral staircase, and, at the very top of the building, bears a fleur de lys, symbol of the kings of France. The mathematical perfection with which the staircase was designed, its central position within the building, as well as the many viewpoints it reveals, all provide arguments in support of the theory that Leonardo da Vinci took part in the Chambord project. As a master engineer, painter and architect, he was invited to France from Italy by King Francis. It is more than likely that he suggested the inclusion of a double spiral staircase, a figure he so often liked to draw in his notebooks. We invite you to walk up and down the staircase, admire its stone carvings and enjoy navigating all its amazing ins and outs!
But of course there was so much more to see!
And guess what?!? We finally saw some castles across the Loire river (from highway D952)! I guess it was just the direction...
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See all the photos in the Loire Valley 2023 album.
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