Which Chateaux Should I See? Blois: Scene of Many Intrigues
Written: Feb 28 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Close to Paris, lots of bloody history, interesting architecture
Cons: Read your history first or you won't really understand the significance of the place
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| YentaKvetch's Full Review: Loire Valley |
"I have 2 days in the Loire. Which chateaux should I see?" That is a question heard frequently from travelers with limited time. YentaKvetch cannot answer that question. No one can. The answer is always the same: You need to do a little research and decide what you want to see. Of course, that doesn't prevent YentaKvetch from offering her pearls of wisdom, distilled after many trips to the area, the most recent of which was a month long home exchange in Tours in 1997.
This series of opinions will discuss some of the major chateaux. Of course, YentaKvetch is limited to discussing the ones she has personally visited. Cheverny and Saumur are omitted because they are in reserve for the next visit. Chambord has already been reviewed by YentaKvetch in its own section on epinions (see http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-3875-205B48C-38966ACE-prod2).
The reader is reminded that the term "chateau" can mean either a castle or a palace depending up the residence to which it refers. A castle was designed to be a fortification. A palace was often designed merely to be lived in and enjoyed.
BLOIS--Scene of Many Intrigues
Blois is often the first chateau many people visit because it is easily accessible by train as a day trip from Paris. It is located midway between Orleans and Tours on the north side of the Loire River. Blois has elements of both a fortress and a palace because it was built over such a long period of time starting as early as the 9th century.
The events most associated with the chateau are the same ones associated with the history of Amboise.
If you read YentaKvetch’s review of Amboise (see http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-7EB2-5370B5E-38B8A4CD-prod1), you know that Charles VIII died at Amboise after hitting his head. Charles VIII had no direct heirs and messengers left Amboise during the night of April 7-8, 1498, to tell Louis d’Orleans that he was Louis d'Orleans no longer, but King Louis XII of France. Interestingly enough, the new king married the old king’s wife, Anne of Brittany because Anne brought with her the huge fief of Brittany. Nothing like keeping the money in the family.
It gets worse than that. Louis XII had only female heirs, and under the law operative in France at the time, women could not become reigning monarchs. Never fear, there was the usual solution. Louis XII married one of his daughters, Claude, off to the next male heir, thus cementing Brittany to the crown. When Louis XII died, Francis d’Angouleme became Francis I and Brittany stayed part of the crown territory.
In 1524 Queen Claude died and Francis took off for glory in Italy and ended up being taken prisoner; he never returned to Blois. After the death of Francis, the castle was the scene of the endless intrigues during the reigns of Henry II and Catherine de Medicis and their three sons, each of whom became king in turn because royal blood did not assure that you lived very long in the 16th century.
In touring the castle, be certain to note the secret panels in the wall of Catherine de Medicis study. They were supposed to hold her cache of poisons. Did they? No one knows for sure, but it does make a good story.
In 1588 both the Duc de Guise and his brother, the Cardinal de Lorraine, were assassinated at Blois on orders of Henri III as retribution for their intriques during the religious wars. The following year Henri III was himself assassinated. France was not a nice place for a vacation in those days.
During the reign of Louis XIII, the king's mother Marie de Medicis was put under house arrest at Blois to halt her intrigues.
The chateau is noted both for the State Room, with its beamed ceiling and the exterior staircase in the Francis I wing.
The website for the Chateau de Blois can be found at http://www.ville-blois.fr/ville-blois/SitesCulturels/Chateau/sources/Chateau.htm. There is a sound and light show at Blois during summer evenings. The website has the particulars. Unfortunately, the website is only in French.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
YentaKvetch
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Member: Lauren Kahn
Location: McLean, Virginia
Reviews written: 71
Trusted by: 98 members
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