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The Château d'Amboise is a
château A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking re ...
in
Amboise Amboise (; ) is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Today a small market town, it was once home to the French royal court. Geography Amboise lies on the banks of the river Loire, east of Tours. It is also about awa ...
, located in the
Indre-et-Loire Indre-et-Loire () is a department in west-central France named after the Indre River and Loire River. In 2019, it had a population of 610,079.département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...
'' of the
Loire Valley The Loire Valley (, ), spanning , is a valley located in the middle stretch of the Loire river in central France, in both the administrative regions Pays de la Loire and Centre-Val de Loire. The area of the Loire Valley comprises about . It is r ...
in France. Confiscated by the monarchy in the 15th century, it became a favoured royal residence and was extensively rebuilt. King Charles VIII died at the château in 1498 after hitting his head on a door lintel. The château fell into decline from the second half of the 16th century and the majority of the interior buildings were later demolished, but some survived and have been restored, along with the outer defensive circuit of towers and walls. It has been recognised as a ''
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 collection of buildings, ...
'' by the
French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...
since 1840.


History


Origins

The Château d'Amboise was built on a spur above the river
Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...
. The strategic qualities of the site were recognised before the medieval construction of the castle, and a Gallic
oppidum An ''oppidum'' (: ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age Europe, Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celts, Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread acros ...
was built there. In the late 9th century
Ingelger Ingelger (died 888), also called Ingelgarius, was a Frankish nobleman, who was the founder of the County of Anjou and of the original House of Anjou. Later generations of his family believed that he was the son of Tertullus (Tertulle) and Petro ...
was made viscount of Orléans and through his mother was related to
Hugh the Abbot Hugh the Abbot of Auxerre (died 12 May 886) was a prominent nobleman and prelate in the Carolingian Empire, who held several ecclesiastical and administrative posts in the West Frankish Kingdom during the reigns of king Charles the Bald and his ...
, tutors to the French kings. Ingelgarius married
Adelais of Amboise Adelais of Amboise (sometimes called Aelinde) (fl. 865), came from an influential Frankish family in the Loire Valley. Through her mother, whose name is unknown, she was the niece of Adelard, Archbishop of Tours, and Raino, Bishop of Angers. In ...
, a member of a prominent family (a bishop and archbishop were her uncles) who controlled Château d'Amboise. He was later made
Count of Anjou The Count of Anjou was the ruler of the County of Anjou, first granted by King Charles the Bald, Charles the Bald of West Francia in the 9th century to Robert the Strong. Ingelger and his son, Fulk the Red, were viscounts until Fulk assumed the t ...
and his rise can be attributed to his political connections and reputation as a soldier. The Château d'Amboise would pass through Ingelger and Adelais' heirs, and he was succeeded by their son, Fulk the Red. As Fulk the Red expanded his territory, Amboise,
Loches Loches (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire, Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is situated southeast of Tours by road, on the left bank of the river Indre (river), Indre. History Loch ...
, and Villentrois formed the core of his possessions. Amboise lay on the eastern frontier of the Angevins holdings. Amboise and its castle descended through the family to Fulke Nerra in 987. Fulk had to contend with the ambitions of Odo I, Count of Blois who wanted to expand his own territory into Anjou. Odo I could call on the support of many followers and instructed Conan, Count of Rennes,
Gelduin of Saumur Gilduin, Gelduin or Geldwin may refer to: *Gelduin of Saumur (), father-in-law of Hervé I, Count of Perche * (died 1049), archbishop of Sens * (died 1077), elected archbishop of Dol, saint *Gelduin of Anchin (died 1123), abbot, correspondent of An ...
, and Abbot Robert of Saint-Florent de Saumur to harass Fulk's properties. While Conan was busy on Anjou's western border, Gelduin and Robert attempted to isolate the easternmost castles of Amboise and
Loches Loches (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire, Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is situated southeast of Tours by road, on the left bank of the river Indre (river), Indre. History Loch ...
by raiding the Saumurois and disrupting communications. To further threaten Amboise, fortifications were erected at Chaumont and Montsoreau, while Saint-Aignan was garrisoned. There is a 12th-century '' Book of the Construction of the Castle of Amboise and the Deeds of Its Lords''.


Royal residence

Expanded and improved over time, on 4 September 1434 it was seized by
Charles VII of France Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious () or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. His reign saw the end of the Hundred Years' War and a ''de facto'' end of the English claims to ...
, after its owner, Louis d'Amboise, Viscount of Thours (1392–1469), was convicted of plotting against
Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...
and condemned to be executed in 1431. However, the King pardoned him but took his château at Amboise. Once in royal hands, the château became a favourite of French kings, from Louis XI to Francis I. Charles VIII decided to rebuild it extensively, beginning in 1492 at first in the French late Gothic Flamboyant style and then after 1495 employing two Italian mason-builders, Domenico da Cortona and Fra Giocondo, who provided at Amboise some of the first
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
decorative motifs seen in French architecture. The names of three French builders are preserved in the documents: Colin Biart, Guillaume Senault and Louis Armangeart. Following the
Italian War of 1494–1495 The First Italian War, or Charles VIII's Italian War, was the opening phase of the Italian Wars. The war pitted Charles VIII of France, who had initial Duchy of Milan, Milanese aid, against the Holy Roman Empire, Spain and an alliance of Ita ...
, Charles brought Italian architects and artisans to France to work on the château, and turn it into "the first
Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...
palace in France". Among the people Charles brought from Italy was Pacello da Mercogliano who designed the gardens at the Châteaux of Ambois and
Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher Departments of France, department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours. With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the mos ...
; his work was highly influential amongst French landscape designers. Charles died at Château d'Amboise in 1498 after he hit his head on a door lintel. Before his death he had the upper terrace widened to hold a larger
parterre A ''parterre'' is a part of a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, plats, low hedges or coloured gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically it was the ...
and enclosed with latticework and pavilions; his successor,
Louis XII Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), also known as Louis of Orléans was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples (as Louis III) from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Marie of Cleves, he succeeded his second ...
, built a gallery round the terrace which can be seen in the 1576 engraving by Jacques Androuet du Cerceau, in ''Les plus excellens bastimens de France''. The
parterres A ''parterre'' is a part of a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, plats, low hedges or coloured gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically it was the ...
have been recreated in the twentieth century as rectangles of lawns set in gravel and a formal
bosquet In the French formal garden, a ''bosquet'' (French, from Italian ''boschetto'', "grove, wood") is a formal plantation of trees in a wide variety of forms, some open at the bottom and others not. At a minimum a bosquet can be five trees of identi ...
of trees. King Francis I was raised at Amboise, which belonged to his mother,
Louise of Savoy Louise of Savoy (11 September 1476 – 22 September 1531) was a French noble and regent, Duchess ''suo jure'' of Auvergne (province), Auvergne and House of Bourbon, Bourbon, Duchess of Nemours and the mother of King Francis I of France, Francis I ...
, and during the first few years of his reign, the château reached the pinnacle of its glory. As a guest of the King,
Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...
came to Château d'Amboise in December 1515 and lived and worked in the nearby Clos Lucé, connected to the château by an underground passage. Records show that at the time of Leonardo da Vinci's death on 2 May 1519, he was buried in the Chapel of St Florentin, originally located (before it was razed at the end of 18th century) approximately northeast of the Chapel of St Hubert. This Chapel of St Florentin belonged to the royal castle and lay within the stone fortifications surrounding the property of the Château d'Amboise, and it should not be confused with the nearby Église Saint Florentin, also in Amboise, but not located within the property boundaries of the Château d'Amboise. After the French Revolution (1789–1799), the Chapel of St Florentin was in such a ruinous state that the engineer appointed by
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
decided that it was not worth preserving and had it demolished. The remaining stonework was used to repair the Château d'Amboise. Some 60 years later (and 330 years after Leonardo's death and original burial), the foundational site of the Chapel of St Florentin was excavated: it is alleged that a complete skeleton was found, with fragments of a stone inscription containing some of the letters of his name. However, other accounts describe heaps of bones (as is customary in chapels throughout France) and even anecdotes of children kicking skulls around for fun and games. Nonetheless, based on some contemporaneous accounts, it is the collection of bones that were found to be whole and with an extraordinarily large skull that are supposed to be buried in the Chapel of Saint Hubert, where now a large floor-level marble stone bearing a metal medallion relief portrait of Leonardo da Vinci (based on the "Melzi's portrait") and the words LEONARDO DA VINCI seem indicative of his final resting place.
Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...
and his wife,
Catherine de' Medici Catherine de' Medici (, ; , ; 13 April 1519 â€“ 5 January 1589) was an Italian Republic of Florence, Florentine noblewoman of the Medici family and Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to Henry II of France, King Henry II. Sh ...
, raised their children in the Château d'Amboise, along with Mary Stuart, the child Queen of Scotland who had been promised in marriage to the future French Francis II.


Amboise conspiracy

In 1560, during the
French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants (called Huguenots) from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease di ...
, a conspiracy by members of the
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarre in the 16th century. A br ...
against the House of Guise that virtually ruled France in the name of the young Francis II was uncovered by Francis, Duke of Guise and stifled by a series of hangings, which took a month to carry out. By the time it was finished, 1,200 Protestants were gibbetted, strung from the town walls, hung from the iron hooks that held pennants and
tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art which was traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical pieces are intended to han ...
on festive occasions and from the very balcony of the ''Logis du Roy''. The Court soon had to leave the town because of the smell of corpses. The abortive peace of Amboise was signed at Amboise on 12 March 1563, between Louis I, Prince of Condé, who had been implicated in the conspiracy to abduct the king, and
Catherine de' Medici Catherine de' Medici (, ; , ; 13 April 1519 â€“ 5 January 1589) was an Italian Republic of Florence, Florentine noblewoman of the Medici family and Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to Henry II of France, King Henry II. Sh ...
. The "edict of pacification", as it was termed, authorised Protestant services only in chapels of ''seigneurs'' and justices, with the stipulation that such services be held outside the walls of towns. Neither side was satisfied by this compromise, nor was it widely honoured.


Decline

Amboise never returned to royal favour. At the beginning of the 17th century, the huge château was all but abandoned when the property passed into the hands of
Gaston, Duke of Orléans ''Monsieur'' Gaston, Duke of Orléans (Gaston Jean Baptiste; 24 April 1608 – 2 February 1660), was the third son of King Henry IV of France and his second wife, Marie de' Medici. As a son of the king, he was born a . He later acquired the title ...
, the brother of the Bourbon King
Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...
. After his death it returned to the Crown and was turned into a prison during
the Fronde The Fronde () was a series of civil wars in the Kingdom of France between 1648 and 1653, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659), Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. The government of the young King Louis XIV c ...
, and under
Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
it held disgraced minister
Nicolas Fouquet Nicolas Fouquet, marquis de Belle-Île, vicomte de Melun et Vaux (; 27 January 1615 – 23 March 1680) was the Superintendent of Finances in France from 1653 until 1661 under King Louis XIV. He had a glittering career, and acquired enormous weal ...
and the duc de Lauzun.
Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...
made a gift of it to his minister Étienne François de Choiseul, Duke of Choiseul, who had recently purchased the Château de Chanteloup to the west. The Duke of Penthièvre, a minor royal, bought it after Choiseul's death. At his own death in 1793, the castle was confiscated by the State. Emperor
Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
gifted Amboise to
Roger Ducos Pierre Roger Ducos (25 July 174716 March 1816), better known as Roger Ducos, was a French political figure during the French Revolution, Revolution and First French Empire, First Empire, a member of the National Convention, and of the French Dir ...
who, after an engineering assessment, decided to destroy a large part of the castle in order to reduce its costs. Ducos was himself exiled in 1816 and Amboise was recovered by the
Duchess of Orléans Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
, Penthièvre's daughter and mother of future King
Louis Philippe I Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...
. Since 1840, the Château d'Amboise has been listed as a ''
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 collection of buildings, ...
'' by the
French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...
. King Louis-Philippe began restoring it during his reign but with his abdication in 1848, the château was confiscated by the government. The captive Emir Abd Al-Qadir, who resisted the French colonisation of Algeria, and an entourage of family and retainers were transferred to Château d'Amboise in November 1848. In 1852 an article in ''
Bentley's Miscellany ''Bentley's Miscellany'' was an English literary magazine started by Richard Bentley. It was published between 1836 and 1868. Contributors Already a successful publisher of novels, Bentley began the journal in 1836 and invited Charles Dicken ...
'' noted that before Abd Al-Qadir took up residence in the château, it had frequently been visited by tourists. Later that year, in October, President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte visited Abd al-Qadir at Amboise to give him the news of his release. In 1873, Louis-Philippe's heirs were given control of the property and a major effort to repair it was made, directed by
Eugène Viollet-le-Duc Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (; 27 January 181417 September 1879) was a French architect and author, famous for his restoration of the most prominent medieval landmarks in France. His major restoration projects included Notre-Dame de Paris, ...
. During the German invasion in 1940 the château was damaged further. Today, the present
Count of Paris Count of Paris () was a title for the local magnate of the district around Paris in Carolingian times. After Hugh Capet was elected King of the Franks in 987, the title merged into the crown and fell into disuse. However, it was later revived ...
, a descendant of Louis-Philippe, repairs and maintains the château through the Fondation Saint-Louis.


Gallery

File:ChateaudAmboiseSW.jpg, Château d'Amboise Image:Amboise (7738718774).jpg, Another view of the Château File:Amboise Chateau - The Council Chamber.jpg, Salle du Conseil File:Amboise (10042235494).jpg, Salle de lʼÉchanson Image:Tomb Da Vinci Interior.jpg, Stained glass in the chapel of Saint-Hubert Image:LeonardoDaVinci-Tomb.JPG,
Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...
tomb in the chapel of Saint-Hubert File:Amboise Château.jpg, Gardens of the Château Image:From Chateau de Amboise across the Loire.JPG, View across the Loire from the Château File:SchlossAmboiseStichDuCerceau.png, Plan of Château d'Amboise by Jacques I Androuet du Cerceau File:SchlossAmboiseGrundriss.png, Floor plan of the Château d'Amboise File:The castle of Amboise.jpg, Drawing of the Château d'Amboise (c. 1518) attributed to
Francesco Melzi Francesco Melzi, or Francesco de Melzi (1491–1570), was an Italian painter born into a family of the Milanese nobility in Lombardy. He became a pupil of Leonardo da Vinci and remained as his closest friend and professional assistant throughout h ...
, a friend who was with Leonardo da Vinci at the end of his life File:Château - parc - buste de Léonard de Vinci (Amboise).jpg, Monument of Leonardo da Vinci


See also

* Gardens of the French Renaissance *
List of castles in France This is a list of castles in France, arranged by Regions of France, region and Departments of France, department. ;Notes: # The French word ''château'' has a wider meaning than the English ''castle'': it includes architectural entities that are p ...
* Châteliers oppidum


Notes

;Bibliography * * * *


Further reading

*


External links


Official website

Château d'Amboise
- The official website of France (in English)

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Château d'Amboise 12th-century establishments in France Houses completed in the 12th century Houses completed in the 15th century Renaissance architecture in France Châteaux with Renaissance gardens in France
Amboise Amboise (; ) is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Today a small market town, it was once home to the French royal court. Geography Amboise lies on the banks of the river Loire, east of Tours. It is also about awa ...
Amboise Amboise (; ) is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Today a small market town, it was once home to the French royal court. Geography Amboise lies on the banks of the river Loire, east of Tours. It is also about awa ...
Amboise Amboise (; ) is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Today a small market town, it was once home to the French royal court. Geography Amboise lies on the banks of the river Loire, east of Tours. It is also about awa ...
Amboise Amboise (; ) is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Today a small market town, it was once home to the French royal court. Geography Amboise lies on the banks of the river Loire, east of Tours. It is also about awa ...
Gardens in Indre-et-Loire Historic house museums in Centre-Val de Loire Museums in Indre-et-Loire House of Orléans Charles VIII of France Louis XII