The Château de Gizeux is an important edifice, dating from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

and much altered over the centuries, notably during the

French Renaissance The French Renaissance was the cultural and artistic movement in France between the 15th and early 17th centuries. The period is associated with the pan-European Renaissance, a word first used by the French historian Jules Michelet to define th ...

and the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...

. The Château de Gizeux in located in the ''

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

'' of Gizeux in the

Indre-et-Loire Indre-et-Loire () is a department in west-central France named after the Indre River and Loire River The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

'' of France, in what used to be the province of

Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France *County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France **Duke ...

. It is one of the Châteaux of the Loire. The château stands at the heart of the Parc naturel régional Loire-Anjou-Touraine. The building is 250 metres long, making it the longest château in Touraine angevine.

Geography

The Château de Gizeux is situated some fifteen kilometres north of

Bourgueil Bourgueil () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Population Bourgueil wine Bourgueil is an ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) for wine in the Loire Valley region, and produces primarily red wine from the ...

and 25 kilometres from

Saumur Saumur () is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. The town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgueil, Coteaux du Layon, etc.. Saumur statio ...

, within the green and wooded parc naturel régional de Loire-Anjou-Touraine. It is midway between

Angers Angers (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the prov ...

and

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...

. The château was part of the former province of Anjou and today is in Touraine angevine. It was built on the site of a 14th-century

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

History

The manor of Gizeux belonged to the family of the poet

Joachim du Bellay Joachim du Bellay (; – 1 January 1560) was a French poet, critic, and a founder of the Pléiade. He notably wrote the manifesto of the group: '' Défense et illustration de la langue française'', which aimed at promoting French as an a ...

from 1315 to 1660. The château then became the property of several marquises of Gizeux from the family of Contades. In 1789, during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, Prince Louis Gabriel de Contades (1759–1825), opposing the revolutionaries, had to flee from French soil and find refuge in

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city in the island, Santo Domingo, which came to refer ...

. He only returned to Gizeux in 1801. The Château de Gizeux was a dependency of the sénéchaussée de Saumur and the former province of Anjou. In 1790, this part of Anjou, stretching from

in the south to Château-la-Vallière in the north and including Gizeux, was attached to the ''

'' of

Description

The buildings have conserved the parts built at different times. Thus, the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

style mixes with that of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

. The château has two large galleries of paintings: the ''Galerie François Ier'' (François I) decorated with Italian paintings form the start of the 17th century, and the ''Grande Galerie des Châteaux'' decorated with late 17th-century painting, including panels representing royal palaces and rural scenes covering more than 400 m². The park land was established in 1829. Nearby, a church houses the Du Bellays' splendid tombs. The extremely rare 17th-century

orant Orans (/ˈoː.rans/), a loanword from Medieval Latin ''ōrāns'' translated as ''one who is praying or pleading'', also orant or orante, as well as lifting up holy hands, is a posture or bodily attitude of prayer, usually standing, with the elbow ...

s were made of white marble by Ghislain (known as Cambrai), director of the Académie royale de peinture et sculpture in Paris. The Château de Gizeux has been listed since 1945 as a ''

monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

'' by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visual, ...

References

External links

*
Official website of the Château de Gizeux

Gizeux among the Châteaux de la Loire

Château de Gizeux and Loire Valley
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gizeux, Chateau de Castles in Centre-Val de Loire Châteaux in Indre-et-Loire Monuments historiques of Indre-et-Loire Historic house museums in Centre-Val de Loire Museums in Indre-et-Loire

Geography

History

Description

See also

References

External links