Chenonceau - The Toast of The Loire

We were fortunate to spend an entire week in the Loire Valley on our recent trip to France. With more than three hundred châteaus, Loire could seem overwhelming to any first-time visitors. Somebody once asked travel writer Rick Steves to pick out one château to visit if one had limited time. Without hesitation, he answered that it would be Château de Chenonceau. Although Chenonceau is neither the flashiest nor the most magnificent of Loire château, it has been beloved for its grace and the idyllic setting over the Cher River. Because this château was so believed and coveted over the centuries, Chenonceau has been referred to as the “toast of the Loire.”

Given Rick’s recommendation, Chenonceau was one of the first château we visited in the Loire. It was a scenic 25-minute drive from our home base in the royal city of Amboise. Just judging from the parking area, I could tell that Chenonceau is immensely popular with visitors. It is also a popular stop for big bus tours. This is the one château that people suggest making an advanced reservation. Fortunately, we visited outside the peak season, allowing me to make a last-minute reservation an hour before arrival. At €18 per person, Chenonceau’s admission is relatively expensive but still acceptable.

Immediately upon entry to the château ground, Chenonceau appears at the end of a tree-lined path. We were lucky with the weather this morning. The way light filtered down through the foliage was beautiful. This view by itself gave me chills. Interestingly enough, the tickets have timed entry into the château’s interiors. Since we were late for our timed entry, we made a beeline to the building directly. My first impression was how diminutive the château appeared from the front. Ironically, the freestanding tower out front interested me the most.

Right after another ticket check, visitors could rent their audioguide for a few euros. As always, the best way to make the most of a visit was to learn about its history. It is a worthwhile investment for those interested in learning about Chenonceau’s turbulent history. The château traces its history back to a 13th-century fortress. It was burned down and rebuilt before being sold to Thomas Bohier, who worked in the court of the charismatic King Francis I, who is noted for bringing the Renaissance to France. Because Bohier was away either at the royal court or at war, his wife Katherine Briçonnet had great latitude in managing the family estate.

Katherine demolished most of the medieval fortress to build a brand-new stand-alone château. She developed the plan based on a Venetian palazzo; the construction took place from 1513 to 1521. Like other contemporary Renaissance châteaus, Chenonceau follows the Renaissance’s principles of symmetry and order but still retains its distinctive “French style” in materials and forms. Only the keep of the original fortress remains today; she did manage to add a couple of Renaissance turrets and a chimney on top.

Nicknamed the Château of the Ladies (Le Château des Dames), Château de Chenonceau is primarily the work of a long line of female owners over the century, starting from Katherine Briçonnet. Among the famous owners of Chenonceau were the two subsequent owners: Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de Medici. The complex relationship between these two powerful women became a popular subject of fascination. Chenonceau happened to be at the center of their power struggles against each other. Diane de Poitiers was a noblewoman and the favorite mistress of King Henry II of France. When Henry and his brother were still a child, he was sent to Spain as royal hostages. Diane accompanied the young princes there and became somewhat of a motherly figure to Henry during that time of extreme hardship. Accompanying Henry on the trip to Spain was Daine. Fifteen years older than Henry, Diane quickly became a mother figure to the young prince.

Upon Henry’s return to France, he quickly became infatuated with Diane. The relationship eventually became sexual and continued after his marriage to Catherine de Medici, a niece of Pope Clement VII. When Henry unexpectedly ascended to the throne, he officially made her a “Royal Favorite.” She was given a seat in the privy council, a privilege not extended to Queen Catherine. Henry was so trustful and infatuated with Diane that he allowed her to write and sign letters on his behalf. She would even sign “HenriDiane,” in official court documents. As the official mistress, Diane amassed tremendous wealth. The most prized possession she received from Henry was Château de Chenonceau in 1547.

This gift of Chenonceau to Diane was quite scandalous at the time. It was technically not Henry’s property to give away since the château was the property of the crown, not the king. By all accounts, she was very astute in managing the finances and operations of the estate. She began her own construction project by building a stone bridge to the other bank of the Cher River to gain access to the vast hunting ground there. The bridge graceful arched bridge was already in Katherine Briçonnet’s original plan. The bridge was the one feature that stood Chenonceau apart from any other château.

In addition to interior renovation and adding the bridge, Diane commissioned a large Renaissance garden to the east of the château. The layout of this garden has remained unchanged since her time. Swirl patterns of gray Santolina complement the bold geometric lines. The garden is regarded as stereotypically French and highly praised during Diane’s time. Remarkably, Diane hosted both Henry and Queen Catherine. One could only imagine how painful and humiliating the visit was for the queen. Among Diane’s guests at Chenonceau was the new Mary, the Queen of Scot, Catherine’s daughter-in-law. It is safe to say neither of them had much to say about Queen Catherine.

The separate royal cypher of King Henry II and Queen Catherine de Medici.

Catherine was understandably very displeased with her husband’s lifelong affair with Diane. But being a Medici, Catherine remained patient and pragmatic during her husband’s reign. Knowing how much he was in love with Diane, Catherine did not actively undermine Diane’s status and remained loyal to the dynasty. When King Henry died unexpectedly during a jousting tournament in 1559, Diana finally became the most powerful woman in France. She took no time in confiscating Chenonceau back to the Crown’s hand. However, she was mindful of not overly humiliating Diane. Catherine offered her the nearby Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire as a residence as an “exchange.”

The fabulous bed of Queen Catherine de Medici.

Naturally, Catherine began to erase traces of Diane’s past from the château. Not only were Diana’s portraits removed, but Catherine also made the point to install a regal portrait of herself above the fireplace in Diane’s former bedroom. He also refashioned his husband’s royal cypher to eliminate the “D”, a vague inference to Diane. Who could blame her, right? Instead, she installed separate cypher for Henry and Catherine side by side, establishing herself as an equal to her husband. These symbols were plastered everywhere inside the château to let you know Diane’s reign was a thing of the past.

Since the Medici had a knack for art and architecture, Queen Catherine was happy to put her own stamp on Chenonceau. Her most notable addition is to build a gallery on top of Diane’s bridge. With eighteen tall windows, the gallery was basked in daylight. The movement of river water below was reflected in the gallery's interior, injecting a sense of dynamism into the space. The black and white-colored slate floor gives a rather contemporary appearance. I imagine this to be the ultimate place to host elaborate parties for the French court.

Catherine de Medici’s gallery over Diane’s bridge.

Catherine hosted three lavish celebrations at Cehnonceau, including an infamous one in 1577. Referred by historians as “the naked breast ball,” she put on this party to show off her son Henry III with sixty of the most beautiful ladies at the court. Although he was married, rumors were rife about Henry’s sexuality at the time. He was known to have worn women’s dresses on occasions and surrounded himself with “feminine” male pages and confidants. The ladies arrived at the court only dressed in transparent veils. It was both wild and cringeworthy to have your mother arrange a scandalous sex party. But if contemporary accounts are to be believed, young King Henry was unmoved and showed no interest in scantly-clad women.

Catherine had her architect draw a grand plan to turn this château into an impressive palace. The château we see today is only a fraction of her plan. The project never materialized due to insufficient funds, but Catherine substantially renovated the château interiors with the latest trends of the Italian Renaissance. Aside from intricate ceiling paneling, I was particularly impressed by the enormous Renaissance fireplaces in each bedroom. Several have been restored to their original splendors with gilded coats of arms.

Chenonceau was known to be Catherin’s favorite residence during her reign as Queen Regent. She set up her office at the second level. Dubbed the Green Room, she ruled France from here. I wonder whether she loved Chenonceau because it was once home to her archenemy. And to the rivalry with the mistress one step up, Catherine built a new garden on the western end of the château. I could not say whether I love Diane’s or Catherin'e’s garden more. In all honesty, it probably depends on the view of the château at a particular time of day.

When Catherine passed away in 1589, Chenonceau was inherited by her daughter-in-law Louise of Lorraine. When staying in Chenonceau, she learned that his husband, King Henry III, was assassinated. Lorraine remained committed to him despite all of Henry’s failures. She spent the next eleven years mourning at Chenonceau. In a state of depression, she allegedly spent the rest of her life wandering the hall château aimlessly, dressed in all white, following the royal custom of royal mourning.

The most memorable room at Chenonceau is Louise’s bedroom on the second floor. The decors there are absolutely bonkers! Not only is the whole room painted in chalk black throughout, but there are also symbols of mourning everywhere: silver tears, grave-digging shovels, and the crown of thorns. The heavy black draperies even had stitching of skulls and features. There is something very sad and morbid about the whole place. I could only imagine how terrifying it was for her servants to attend to her in this state of mind. It must be a depressing household to manage.

With the death of Louise of Lorraine, the Capetian House of Valois came to an end. It was all the more ironic considering that Catherine de Medici had eight children. The French monarchy was passed on to the Bourbons. The change of dynasty meant a change in taste as well. Chenonceau ceased to be a permanent home for the royals but was used only as an occasional hunting lodge. In many ways, Chenonceau returned to its roots as a Loire château. Louis XIV (of Versailles’ fame) was the last French monarch to visit here in 1650. A regal portrait of him now hangs on the wall of the drawing room.

Chenonceau was sold to a wealthy couple, Claude and Louise Dupin, in 1773. Mrs. Dupin was highly educated and transformed Chenonceau into a celebrated center of Enlightenment. Among the guests here are Voltaire, Montesquieu. and Pierre de Marivaux. Famed philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau served as the couple’s secretary and tutored their children. Rousseau spent quite a few years in Chenonceau and spoke highly of the place as a place of music and intellectual flourishing. Louise Dupin came from a family of artists and intellectuals. She converted a room into a theater to produce her own production.

Louise Dupin was ahead of her time. A feminist, she advocated for women’s rights to education in high offices. For an enlightened bourgeois like her, the ensuing chaos of the French Revolution was difficult to reconcile. She decided to leave Paris and settled permanently at Chenonceau. Among long lines of château owners, Louise could be credited as the most heroic figure. When the mobs of revolutionaries knocked on the gate of Chenonceau, Louise had to use her diplomatic skills to save Chenonceau from destruction. Lupin and her allies argued that destroying the only bridge across the River Cher would not be in the local community’s interest.

Chenonceau faced another existential threat soon afterward. The new French Republic demanded that the entire be turned over to the state. Citing its history as a royal estate, the government argued it should be confiscated as national property. Fortunately, Louise Dupin kept a detailed record of titles and rights throughout history. Through her tenacity, she fought off the state’s ownership claim and prevented it from an uncertain fate. Ironically, public sentiment changed dramatically in the mid-19th century. In 1840, Chenonceau was offered a protective status as a national monument, along with other great Loire châteaus: Chambord, Amboise, Chinon, Amboise, Bloise, and Chaumont.

The following important owner of Chenonceau was Marguerite Pelouze, who acquired the property in 1864. An heir of an industrialist who made a fortune installing gas lights across Paris, she spent almost her entire fortune renovating the château to the heyday of Chenonceau. For her, that would be the time of Diane de Poitiers. Many of Catherine’s additions and modifications were removed. Fortunately, she left Catherine’s gallery over the bridge in place, thus preserving the most unique feature of Chenonceau.

Over the next hundred years, Cheonceau remained a center of culture and letters and eventually became the Academy of Arts and Letters. Some of the greatest French artists of the day were given a residency here. Among them was noted composer Claude Debussy. Debussy allegedly got a taste of luxury in Cheonceau, which he retained for the rest of his life. It was here that he composed his first work. The splendor of Cheonceau did not last long. The enormous debt accrued by Marguerite forced the sale in 1889.

By the turn of the century, Chenonceau became the estate of the Menier family of the Menier Chocolate dynasty. The family remains the custodians of the château to this day. Soon after the family took ownership, World War I broke out. Even though Chenonceau was far from the frontline, it joined the war effort. Gaston Menier converted the château into a military hospital in 1914. The two levels of the public gallery were converted into patient wards, housing one hundred and twenty beds. An operating room was set up on the second floor. Many of the precious murals were covered over by white stucco to make the environment more “sanitary.”

During this time, modern utilities were put into place at Chenonceau. While the government paid the salary of the medical staff, the Menier family covered all the other expenses, from food to accommodation. In total, 2,254 wounded soldiers were treated here by the time the war ended. Simonne Menier, the wife of Gaston Menier, even served as a head nurse. To better understand this chapter of the history of Chenonceau, head to the Carriage Gallery for a superb exhibit that recreated how the gallery might have looked.

During the Second World War, Cehnonceau was requisitioned by the French army. Soon afterward, the German armed forces arrived. The château was targeted by German artillery and caused considerable damage. After a brief period of Nazi occupation, the château became a no-man’s land. Access to the estate was forbidden. For two years, River Cher became the border between Nazi-occupied France and Vichy France. Catherine’s bridge inadvertently became a bridge between two regimes. Many partisans used the Gallery as a road to freedom.

From 1967 until earlier this year, Cehnonceau was under the care of Laura Menier. After the war, the château was meticulously restored and visited by numerous dignitaries, including Harry Truman, Prince Charles, Princess Diana, and Queen Elizabeth II. Judging from the condition of the château today, I would say the Menier did a tremendous job restoring Cheenonceau to its best self. Aside from the grand bedrooms and Catherin’s gallery, a highlight for me was the Renaissance kitchen.

The kitchen comprises several rooms: the butchery, pantry, and the servant’s dining room. Each was beautifully recreated with period furniture and cookware. As an enthusiastic home cook, I was eager.to check out all the kitchen gadgets. The sets of butchery blocks there were impressive; I particularly love how the knife block is integrated into the butcher block. At the end of the room was a medieval icebox, a precursor of modern refrigerators. It is mad even the poorest American now has a better kitchen than Catherine de Medici. We were all super impressed by the gravity-driven rotisserie in the kitchen. The unique way they hoisted supply from the river below was also ingenious.

ingenuous automatic *rotisserie* system in the main kitchen.

To many visitors, Chenonceau's fresh flower arrangement was unique. Although many other châteaus also had fresh arrangements, none was as elaborate and festive as the ones at Chenonceau. Not only did they grow all the cut flowers in their own gardens, but the château is also known for its flower arrangement workshop. A team of full-time gardens tends to the vast grounds, 400 rose bushes and wide varieties of vegetables and floras. Being a minimalist, I found the arrangements too busy for my liking. However, I admit they are mightily impressive and works of living arts in their own right.

The Vegetable and Flower Garden supplies all the fresh cut flower for the château interiors.

To appreciate the majesty of Chenonceau, visitors must spend some time going through the Vegetable and Flower Garden. Composed of twelve square plots, they are a joy to explore. Unless you are an expert, you quickly discover flowers you have never seen. Fortunately, the gardeners All the little plaques came in handy. My dad took his time perusing the gardens. Because we visited in the fall, plenty of squashes and pumpkins also existed. Ironically, I found this back garden more beautiful and colorful than Catherine's or Diane’s.

To round out our visit, there were still more gardens to explore. There is a labyrinth and a secret garden hidden behind high walls: the Russell Page Garden. Only inaugurated in 2018, this garden was created based on the design of Russell Page, a celebrated British landscape architect. In 1913, the Menier family commissioned Page to design a small English-style garden. But the plan was never realized. Nearly a hundred years later, the family discovered his design from the archive and transformed an old children’s play area into the newest garden.

After a few hours in the French formal gardens, Page’s creation was a breath of fresh air. The giant willow tree sets the tone; the garden is reminiscent of a Japanese Zen garden in simplicity and calmness. A handful of whimsical sculptures created by American designer Nicholas Tomlan inject a dose of levities and lightheartedness into the garden. This also happened to be a perfect spot to sit and people-watch.

The whimsical sculpture by Nicholas Tomlan.

Overall, we spent about five hours at Chenonceau. We might have spent the entire day here without my desire to visit Clos Lucé in Amboise that afternoon. Chenonceau’s cafeteria was excellent. The best part about being in France was the obsession with food quality. I have never dined so well at a museum/historic monument. I even convinced my parents to share a bottle of red wine with me; I call that a cultural triumph!

▲

Chenonceau - The Toast of The Loire

Self-Reflection at Giverny

Travel Rant #4: Latvian National Song & Dance Festival