The Loire Valley is often referred to as the Garden of France due to its location but also has earned the name, the Valley of Kings due to the abundance of chateaus built by kings during the Renaissance period. Located in the Loire Valley in France, on a few kilometers of the capital of France, Paris, is the place, the home to the country’s multitude of castles. Chateau de Chambord is one of the most famous mansions in the world and one of the most beautiful, which is known for French Renaissance architecture combined with the traditional medieval and classical Italian structures. Chambord is the largest castle in the Loire Valley and was built to serve as a hunting lodge for King Francois I who had the royal residence at Château de Blois and Chateau d’Amboise. The design of this impressive building is due to him by Domenico da Cortona, who sketched the castle, but Philibert Delorme and his, which had a major contribution to design and build it.
At first glance, it would seem a classic castle, with towers and surrounded by a ditch sharp, but when you get into it, you figure out the difference that makes it special, Renaissance decorations are a clear example of the two Italian and French styles. Towers and moat would seem at first sight that are built for defense, but it is not so, they are built only motifs.Chateau de Chambord. Containing over 440 rooms, 18 stories, and 5440 acres of land, this estate was originally built as a hunting lodge for Francois I during the Renaissance. Chateau de Chambord is surrounded by 52.5 square kilometers of forest that actually is a nature preserve for deer, which is surrounded by a wall 31 km. This castle was the inspiration for the beautiful castle of the Beast in 1991 Disney film, The Beauty and the Beast.
Inside there is also a unique double spiral staircase in which people can use and never see each other due to its design. There are eleven rooms open to the public, one which was the former hunting room of Francois I. Important facts about this castle is that the construction of the castle lasted more than 30 years, and the most famous architects of the beginning of the 16th century took part in its construction. Leonardo da Vinci himself took part in the design of some of the castle’s decorations. Leoardo da Vinci designed the innovative double helix staircase. The roof of the castle was originally doubled as a viewing terrace from which the royal family observe the start and finishing the hunts, while the roof terrace include a forest of shell-shaped domes, elongated chimneys, rich sculpted gables and the miniatures spires. The vaulted guardrooms are arranged in the form of a Greek cross, around the grand staircases , where once were the settings for royal balls and lays. Here the luxury is predominant by the decorations with the Francois I initials and a salamander motif like a mysterious symbol, that it is repeated over 800 times thought the chateau. Collections of furniture, paintings, and tapestries are also found at the Chambord. Personal collections from both Francois I and Louis XIV and their families are still housed here and are open for public viewing.
The visitors can learn important things and children can be educated by attending several classes such as the half day workshops. With these occasion students can wach the historical figures played by actors in the Moliere theater company, and also reviling the time of the Renaissance. By touring the castle’s secret passageways, gardens, children are shown the life of that period of time with all the good and bed equivocated in these plays. Also the companies can rent and make parties, galas, seminars in this chateau. Chateau de Chambord is one of the most extravagant castle of them all in the Loire Valley that must be seen in a life time.
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