Which Chateaux Should I See? Amboise: A Mass Beheading
Written: Feb 26 '00 (Updated Mar 02 '00)
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Pros: Scene of Massacre; Leonardo da Vinci is buried on the grounds
Cons: An imposing fortress and location but not very beautiful
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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.
AMBOISE--A King Dies and a Mass Beheading Occurs
Amboise is an imposing fortress on the south bank of the Loire. The castle has royal associations going back to Charles VII, who confiscated the fortress from its previous owner. When his father, Louis XI, was king, the future Charles VIII spent his childhood at Amboise in an effort to keep the heir safe from plagues and intrigues.
Despite his isolated childhood, Charles VIII retained a fondness for the chateau and after his marriage in 1498 took his young queen Queen to see a tennis match there. On the eve of Palm Sunday 1498 Charles VIII hit his head on the door to a gallery to a lavatory and died nine hours later on a straw mattress in his path, no one having dared to move him.
Louis XII reserved Amboise for his queen, Louise of Savoy and her children, one of whom Francis, Count of Angouleme, became Francis I. If you have visited some of the chateaux, you will remember Francis I as the king whose symbol was an ermine. That symbol decorates many of the chateaux, especially Amboise and Blois.
The chateau figured in the religious wars in France and in 1560 was the scene of horrendous retribution by the Catholic king after the Protestant Hugenots tried to seize power. For a solid day beheading after beheading occurred in front of the entire Court, including the king Francis II. It is thought that about 1,500 people were killed. The heads were mounted on pikes on the battlements overlooking the Loire. Others were hanged from the grated wrought iron balconies. This grisly affair is the most important historical event to take place at Amboise.
The castle was on and off by royalty. In the 19th century it was briefly confiscated after the fall of Louis-Phillipe. Eventually the d'Orleans family--a branch of the French royal family--obtained possession of the castle. They still own it.
The castle is open for public view. The tour is in French, but explanatory material in English is available. There is a small chapel on the grounds where Leonardo da Vinci is buried. Leonardo was employed by Francis I at his court. Up the road from the castle is the house where Leonardo lived, "Le Clos-Luce", which is now operated as a museum. There is an exhibit of models of Leonardo's inventions. The models are from recent times but based on his drawings.
On Wednesdays and Saturday evenings in the summer, the fortress is the scene of a spectacle that includes 450 actors from the town of Amboise. This spectacle has been previously discussed by YentaKvetch in her opinion entitled "Summer Evenings in the Loire Valley." Suffice it to say here that she regards it as the most impressive of the summer evening shows in the region. For further details the opinion can be found at http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-485F-8809AA-38BF4189-bd3.
Many travelers to the region stay either in Tours or Amboise and radiate from those towns for visits to the chateaux and other attractions in the area. In addition to the castle, Le Clos-Luce and the spectacle, the town offers many fine restaurants, on of which, Manoir St. Thomas offers a medieval banquet during the summer (see http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-425B-78152AD-389884EF-prod1).
A web site for the town of Amboise can be found at http://www.amboise-valdeloire.com/
A website specifically for the chateau can be found at http://www.chateaux-france.com/~amboise.en
Recommended:
Yes
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YentaKvetch
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Member: Lauren Kahn
Location: McLean, Virginia
Reviews written: 71
Trusted by: 97 members
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