Cheverny Castle (Loire and Cher, France): description, history, excursions, reviews

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

Today, bus tours around Europe, including France, have become very popular. There is something to see here. For example, one cannot help but admire the striking symmetry and extraordinary whiteness of Cheverny Castle.

The narrow and tall building is connected by two wings with square-shaped pavilions covered with slightly rounded roofs. At this point, the Renaissance-style layout is slightly diluted with the influence of the classics, which is expressed in a series of niches decorated with busts, which gives an elegant lightness to the facade.

Description

Reading the description of the castle of Cheverny, you can learn that in contrast to the castles of Chambord or Blois, whose interiors are almost empty, it keeps intact the stunning magnificent furniture of the Louis XIII period. This is simply explained - the castle had a very happy share, and it was owned by one family, except for a short period in 1564 (it was a gift from Henry II to Diana de Poitiers, but the favorite later transferred the castle to the son of the former owner, Philippe Huro, Chancellor of France, Count Shevernysky). This helped to maintain the unity of the ensemble and the style as a whole.

Snow-white strict facade of the castle and elegant beautifulthe park was inspired by Hergé, a Belgian artist who created the comic book The Adventures of Tenten. His Moulinzar is completely copied from Cheverny.

Cheverny Castle: History

The family from Blois Hurault, as well as their descendants, have been the owners of the land of Saint-Denis-sur-Loire for almost eight centuries with short breaks. On the site of Cheverny in 1315 there was a mill, which Jean Huro, quartermaster of Louis XII, rebuilt in 1490 into a castle with a drawbridge, a moat, loopholes, towers and other fortifications.

Then the Yuro family was already famous. She could be proud of her own family - it included ministers, secretaries of state, chancellors under various sovereigns. Philippe, son of Jean Huro, was the chancellor of Henry III.

Philippe Huro is a French politician. As chancellor, he took an active part in the battle of the Catholics with the Huguenots. After the Duke of Anjou was elevated to the king of Poland, he instructed the Count of Cheverny to look after his interests in France. And Philip immediately let know about the death of Charles IX, and also helped him urgently return to Paris.

Henry III, having become king, Philippe Huro appointed Chancellor of France and Keeper of the Seal. After an uprising in Paris in 1588, Henry III decided to finally get rid of the Guises. Due to this, Yuro, being their supporter, fell out of favor and was forced to return to his ancestral lands. The famous historian de Tou (Philippe was married to his sister) kept him up to date on French political life.

Henry IV, having ascended the throne, proposed Yuroagain the title of chancellor and keeper of the seal, but only if he goes to his side. He gladly agreed, becoming a loyal follower of the new king. Philip Huro wrote memoirs, which were continued by his second son until 1601, as well as the work "Instruction to his children." These writings of his have been published numerous times.

Probably, the 1st castle, from which there was absolutely nothing left, was located on the site of the current outbuildings. One archival document says that the current castle was built "on the site of the former" in 1634. But the meaning of this phrase is a little vague and does not prove that he was at the site of the mill.

Henri, a descendant of J. Huro, in 1625 began the construction of a new building. The sculptor and architect Jacques Bougier, inspired by the Luxembourg Palace, managed to create one of the purest examples that corresponded to the style of Louis XIII. He chose the local white sandstone as a material - it does not darken with time and becomes stronger every year.

Excellent warrior Henri Huro, lieutenant general, in 1599 became the owner of Cheverny. The historian Durfort de Cheverny, the Marquis, who lived in the castle during the Revolution, described a tragic famous episode in his memoirs. Having married the young Francoise Chabot (she was 11 years old at the time of the wedding), the count immediately went to war.

Finding himself at home only on short visits, the count noticed with delight how the girl turns into a true beauty. Yuro loved his wife without memory. At some point, when he was in Paris at the court of Henry IV, Kingjokingly put 2 fingers in the form of horns to his head. Those present laughed, and the young count in the mirror discovered what caused such a violent reaction from the environment.

After spending the night in the saddle, he rushed to the castle at dawn. The young page, with whom the countess often retired when her husband was absent, managed to jump out the window, only unsuccessfully - he broke his leg, and the count stabbed him with a sword. Returning to his wife in the room with the priest, the deceived husband gave his wife an hour to think, to choose between poison and blade. Her choice fell on poison.

Henri Guro returned to Paris the same evening - at this time the king fell asleep. When he was told about the sad event, in which he was somehow involved, the king became very angry and sent the count to Cheverny for three years.

During the period of exile, Henri married again, now to Marguerite de la Moriniere, the daughter of his bail. His wife is described as a smart, thrifty woman of excellent taste, who oversaw all the renovation and expansion of the castle, with the help of the artist Jean Monnier and the architect Boye. Interior decoration was completed in 1650 by their daughter.

Throughout history, the castle of Cheverny was owned by only one family, therefore, the interiors, furniture and various furnishings are well preserved. But Yuro's family lost it in 1802, and only in 1824, during the Restoration period, they returned it to their property.

The Marquis of Vibret, a descendant of the counts of Huro, who died relatively recently, bequeathed the castle to his nephews - the viscountess and viscount de Sigal,who became the owners of Cheverny after his death. Part of the castle ensemble was opened to the general public in 1922.

Architecture

In the castle of Cheverny (France), a separate block is located among a large park with a floral open parterre. Considering the different heights of the roofs of the building, as if dividing the overall composition into 5 parts, one can guess the construction of several eras. The most ancient part is the central one, which was started back in 1510, when the lands of this estate were bought by Philip Yuro, who was the keeper of the seal.

The side pavilions are in plan a pure square, whose side also determines their height, so a calm cubic shape is created. It naturally and easily closes the whole composition. The decoration of the facades is well thought out: small pediments are placed above all the windows, between the windows on the 2nd floor there are niches with busts of 12 Roman emperors, created in a classical style reminiscent of antique.

In front of the building there was a fence of the courtyard, which was destroyed later. The opposite façade facing the garden is much simpler.

Interiors

The castle of Cheverny, whose interiors amaze everyone, like no other palace estate of the Loire, could survive to our time. Its furnishings are especially interesting - this is one of the best examples of art from the period of Louis XIII.

Right wing ground floor

On the ground floor of the castle of Cheverny, in the right wing, the walls of the Dining Room were in 1634 upholstered in leather from Cordoba withembossed with the coat of arms of Yuro - a blue cross on a gold-colored field and 4 solar signs in the corners. 34 paintings based on scenes from Don Quixote are by Jean Monnier, a native of Blois, who adorned the castle during the construction period. The parquet and fireplace are from the Louis XIV period.

Stone straight staircase made in the spirit of Louis XIII. It is decorated with allegories of art forms and weapons with fruits. In the pier of the flight of stairs, knightly Savoyard armor of the 16th century is installed, in which spreading deer antlers, which were brought from Siberia, are fixed above the helmet.

First floor of the left wing

The lobby here is decorated with tapestries from the 17th century. Portraits of Philippe Huro, Marie-Jeanne, Gaston of Orleans and other famous people hang in the Grand Salon. The portrait by Titian by Cosimo de' Medici also deserves attention. There is a Dargin carpet on the floor (mid-19th century, Caucasus). The salon is furnished with exquisite furniture.

In the salon, decorated with Flemish tapestries of the 17th century with scenes based on the works of Teniers, there is an old pendulum chronometer, which was used by watchmakers as a standard of the most accurate time. It shows the date, time, moon phase, while beating every 15 minutes.

Second floor of the right wing

The castle of Cheverny, of course, could not do without an armory. It was designed by Jean Monnier in 1634. The tapestries of the 17th century depict the scene of the abduction of Helen by Paris. This place houses the chest of Henry IV with the image of the coats of arms of Navarre and France and a collection of weapons.

The adjacent hall was named "Royal chambers". This room was supposed to be allocated in any castle, but the kings never stopped in Cheverny. Monier depicted the myth of Andromeda and Perseus on the coffered ceiling. A series of tapestries dedicated to the travels of Odysseus. The canopy, as well as the bedspread on the bed, are decorated with oriental embroidery.

Around

Cheverny Castle has a wonderful view from the windows of the surrounding park. The French-style garden with a strict layout was replaced in the 19th century by a romantic English park (but now the old garden is being restored). Here are the statues of Gilles Guerin, as well as a few rear.

The greenhouse is north of here. It was built in the XVIII century. Here, during the Second World War, various valuable paintings were hidden, including the Mona Lisa.

This one-story building housed a souvenir shop and a small museum. Nearby was a pavilion where the young Nicolas Poussin, according to legend, wrote his works. At the edge of the park is a 12th-century church.

The owners of the castle loved to hunt. A hunting breed of dogs appeared here, on the side of which there is a letter V, according to the initials of the person who bred this breed. The cost of dogs reaches 10 thousand euros. The kennel, which is located south of the castle, now contains about 70 hounds. Twice a week the whole pack is taken for deer and boar hunting. Every day there is a ceremony of the so-called dog soup - demonstration feeding.

The Château de Cheverny (France) also has a Hall of Trophies, in which about 2000 deer antlers are exhibited, which were killed with1850

Wine

Loire-et-Cher (France) - the province in which the castle is located. There are 2 varieties of wines that are produced here and are associated by name with the castle: "Cours-Cheverny" and "Cheverny". At the same time, the latter is white and red and is prepared from berries grown in local vineyards, which occupy 450 hectares. In 1992, they received the AOC mark. The French say that this is a wine "for immediate pleasure". It is served with bloody meat and fried poultry.

Cours-Cheverny is more original: it is a white wine that is produced on an area of 50 hectares, only from the Romorantin vine. By the way, a curious story is connected with this: the technology for the production of this drink ex alts this grape variety, prohibiting all kinds of mixtures, and outdated rules prescribe this wine must be assembled, in other words, combined with other varieties.

Cheverny Castle reviews

Of course, reviews of the castle can be found, mostly enthusiastic. And this is not surprising - everything here is simply saturated with history. The only pity is that not the whole castle is open to the public…