Chateau de Chambord
The royal Château de Chambord at Cambord, Loir-et-Cher, France, is one of the most recognizable chateaux in the world.
Chambord is the largest château in the Loire Valley ; it was built to serve as a hunting lodge for François I. The original design is attributed, though with several doubts, to Domenico da Cortona.
It was altered considerably during the twenty-eight years of its construction (1519–1547).
Châteaux in the 16th-century departed from castle architecture, they were not as protected as before, they were now mostly to show power and extravagance. Extensive gardens and water features were common amongst châteaux from this period.
The layout is reminiscent of a typical castle with a keep, corner towers, and defended by a moat. The massive château is composed of a central keep, with four immense bastion towers at the corners. The keep also forms part of the front wall of a larger compound with two more large towers. Bases for a possible further two towers are found at the rear, but these were never developed, and remain the same height as the wall. The château features 440 rooms, 282 fireplaces, and 84 staircases. Four rectangular vaulted hallways on each floor form a cross-shape.
The château was never intended to provide any form of defense from enemies; consequently the walls, towers and partial moat are purely decorative, and even at the time were an anachronism. Some elements of the architecture – open windows, loggia, and a vast outdoor area at the top – borrowed from the Italian Renaissance Architecture – are less practical in cold and damp northern France.
Chambord is the largest château in the Loire Valley ; it was built to serve as a hunting lodge for François I. The original design is attributed, though with several doubts, to Domenico da Cortona.
It was altered considerably during the twenty-eight years of its construction (1519–1547).
Châteaux in the 16th-century departed from castle architecture, they were not as protected as before, they were now mostly to show power and extravagance. Extensive gardens and water features were common amongst châteaux from this period.
The layout is reminiscent of a typical castle with a keep, corner towers, and defended by a moat. The massive château is composed of a central keep, with four immense bastion towers at the corners. The keep also forms part of the front wall of a larger compound with two more large towers. Bases for a possible further two towers are found at the rear, but these were never developed, and remain the same height as the wall. The château features 440 rooms, 282 fireplaces, and 84 staircases. Four rectangular vaulted hallways on each floor form a cross-shape.
The château was never intended to provide any form of defense from enemies; consequently the walls, towers and partial moat are purely decorative, and even at the time were an anachronism. Some elements of the architecture – open windows, loggia, and a vast outdoor area at the top – borrowed from the Italian Renaissance Architecture – are less practical in cold and damp northern France.
One of the architectural highlights is the spectacular double helix open staircase that is the centerpiece of the château. The two helices ascend the three floors without ever meeting, illuminated from above by a sort of light house at the highest point of the château. There are suggestions that Leonardo da Vinci may have designed the staircase, but this has not been confirmed.
The roofscape of Chambord contrasts with the masses of its masonry and has often been compared with the skyline of a town, it shows eleven kinds of towers and three types of chimneys, without symmetry, framed at the corners by the massive towers.
The elaborately developed roof line. It should be noted that the keep's façade is deliberately asymmetrical, with the exception of the Northwest façade, latterly revised, when the two wings were added to the château.
The elaborately developed roof line. It should be noted that the keep's façade is deliberately asymmetrical, with the exception of the Northwest façade, latterly revised, when the two wings were added to the château.
The château was completely unfurnished during this period. All furniture, wall coverings, eating implements and so forth were brought specifically for each hunting trip, a major exercise. It is for this reason that much furniture from the era was built to be disassembled to facilitate transportation. After François died of a heart attack in 1547, the château was not used for almost a century.
The château is surrounded by a 52.5km² (13,000acre) wooded park and game reserve maintained with red deer, enclosed by a 31 kilometer (20mile) wall.
Even though the château was built to act as a hunting lodge for King François I, the king spent barely seven weeks there in total, comprising short hunting visits. As the château had been constructed with the purpose of short stays, it was actually not practical to live there on a longer-term basis. The massive rooms, open windows and high ceilings meant heating was impractical. Similarly, as the château was not surrounded by a village or estate, there was no immediate source of food other than game. This meant that all food had to be brought with the group, typically numbering up to 2,000 people at a time.
Even though the château was built to act as a hunting lodge for King François I, the king spent barely seven weeks there in total, comprising short hunting visits. As the château had been constructed with the purpose of short stays, it was actually not practical to live there on a longer-term basis. The massive rooms, open windows and high ceilings meant heating was impractical. Similarly, as the château was not surrounded by a village or estate, there was no immediate source of food other than game. This meant that all food had to be brought with the group, typically numbering up to 2,000 people at a time.