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 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 Valle ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Geography

Valençay is situated in the Loire Valley. It sits at the end of a plateau. on a hillside overlooking the River Nahon. 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 A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the mo ...

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) ...

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 Georges Pierre André Bégué (22 November 1911 – 18 December 1993),Social Security Death Index code named Bombproof, was a French engineer and agent of the United Kingdom's clandestine organization, the Special Operations Executive (SO ...

, the first SOE agent from England, was parachuted into a field near Valençay. Fifty years later, the

Valençay SOE Memorial The Valençay SOE Memorial is a monument in France to the members of the Special Operations Executive F Section who lost their lives working to liberate the country during World War II. The memorial was unveiled in the town of Valençay, in the ...

, 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 The liberation of France in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French Resistance. Nazi Germany inv ...

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