Valençay () is a commune in the

Indre Indre (; oc, Endre) is a landlocked department in central France named after the river Indre. The inhabitants of the department are known as the ''Indriens'' (masculine; ) and ''Indriennes'' (feminine; ). Indre is part of the current administ ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in the administrative region of

Centre-Val de Loire Centre-Val de Loire (, , ,In isolation, ''Centre'' is pronounced . ) or Centre Region (french: région Centre, link=no, ), as it was known until 2015, is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France. It straddles the middle Loire Valley ...

, France.

Geography

Valençay is situated in the Loire Valley. It sits at the end of a plateau. on a hillside overlooking the River

Nahon Nahon is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alice Nahon (1896–1933), Belgian poet * Cecilia Nahón (born 1974), Argentine economist, diplomat, and politician * Chris Nahon (born 1968), French film director * Karine Nahon (born ...

. Valençay is part of Berry.

History

The commune was formed by the union of three settlements: the "Bourg-de-l'Eglise", the "Bas-Bourg" and what is called the "old quarter." The chateau is a part of the Loire Valley by virtue of the date of its construction and its dimensions, which give it a similar appearance to

Chambord Chambord can refer to: * Chambord (liqueur), a brand of raspberry-flavored liqueur * Château de Chambord, a French ''château'' built in the 16th century * Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, the French commune where the ''château'' is located * Chambord, ...

. A 12th century castle existed on this site, was demolished and construction of its replacement began in 1520, albeit slowly. The chateau was born in the 16th and 17th centuries by the Estampes family. Louis of Estampes, governor and baillif of Blois, undertook the building of the large round tower at the end of the entrance wing. He died in 1530, leaving the tower unfinished. The tower rises above the entry. Work on Valençay began again about 1540 under Jacques of Estampes, lord of the manor. He had married a Grassement with a financier in the family. The lord wanted a residence worthy of his new fortune. Jacques covered the dome of the tower with an imperial design. Valençay was rebuilt multiple times. At the end of the 16th century, Jean of Estampes built a gatehouse in the shape of a

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

, confined to four turrets. It connects to the spans built by Jacques. Jean built the building and the tower on the left of the central house. In the 17th century, Dominique of Estampes finished the wing in the same style as the first half. The castle then formed a quadrilateral enclosed by a second wing and, at the bottom of the court, by arcades. Finance remained mixed with Valençay's history: among its successive owners include farmers. Valençay was sold in 1747 to the general farmer Legendre de Villemorien. He demolished a part of the buildings, preserving only the entry and the first wing. Also Scottish banker

John Law John Law may refer to: Arts and entertainment *John Law (artist) (born 1958), American artist *John Law (comics), comic-book character created by Will Eisner *John Law (film director), Hong Kong film director * John Law (musician) (born 1961), B ...

purchased it. In 1803 the castle was purchased by diplomat

Charles Maurice de Talleyrand Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

.. On 6 May 1941, Georges Bégué, the first

SOE SOE may refer to: Organizations * State-owned enterprise * Special Operations Executive, a British World War II clandestine sabotage and resistance organisation ** Special Operations Executive in the Netherlands, or Englandspiel * Society of Opera ...

agent from England, was parachuted into a field near Valençay. Fifty years later, the Valençay SOE Memorial, originally known as the "''Spirit of Partnership''," was dedicated in honour of the 104 members of SOE's F Section who died for the liberation of France.

Design of the chateau

The entrance is asymmetric and features an enormous tower and a house. The wing offers a more homogeneous style but this unity is superficial and of later vintage.

Population

Economy

The town is known for its pyramid-shaped Valençay cheese made from raw goats' milk.

References

External links

Official website of Valençay

Official website of Valençay's Castle

www.vins-fromages-valencay.com - Valençay wines and cheeses
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valencay Communes of Indre Berry, France