Châteaux Country

Châteaux Country

Loire and château are almost synonymous; even the word château -- part fortress, part palace, part mansion -- has no English equivalent. There are châteaux in every region of France, but nowhere are they found clustered as thickly as in the Loire. Why? There are several reasons. By the early Middle Ages, strategically sited and prosperous towns had already grown up because of transport on the Loire, and fortresses -- the first châteaux -- were built by warlords for defense. The region was also a wildly productive land -- the part between the Loire and the Cher has long been known as the "garden of France." In few other areas of France is la douceur de la vie, the sweetness of life, more alluring. Feudal lords grew rich; so did monks, building splendid abbeys. The early medieval Plantagenet kings, rulers of France and England, installed themselves here (at Chinon and Fontevraud, to be exact). Under the later medieval Valois kings, the Loire became in effect the capital of France. Châteaux sprang up at their command thanks to the region's easily worked building stone, tufa, or tuffeau. The parade of châteaux began with the medieval fortress at Angers, a brooding, muscular fort designed to withstand long sieges. Such castles were meant to look grim, advertising horrid problems for attackers and unpleasant conditions for prisoners in the dungeons. Elegance arrived at Saumur -- the Duc de Berry adorned the sturdy fort with a riot of high pointed roofs, gilded steeples, iron weather vanes, and soaring pinnacles, creating a Gothic-style castle that Walt Disney would have been proud of. Decent-sized windows replaced the old cross-bow slits and love-sick princesses would lean out of these windows to gaze down on chivalric tournaments, with all the trappings of cloth-of-gold, and banquets with trumpeters.

By the Renaissance -- brought to France by Charles VIII at the end of the 15th century -- balance, harmony, and grace were brought to the fore by rich bankers and officials who, some super-romantic American art historians believe, wanted to wow their womenfolk by building châteaux that were homages to the death-defying chivalry of the past. Azay-le-Rideau may look Gothic from a distance, but its moat is actually the River Indre, and its purpose is to provide a pleasing reflection, emphasizing the symmetry of this architectural bijou. This was a fairy-tale castle, not used to defend territories but to entertain and astonish guests with luxury. This style reached its peak at Chenonceau, the beautiful château that seems moored over the River Cher -- designed by ladies, it was used mostly to host gala balls and famous VIPs. By the 17th century the line of great châteaux had come to an end -- the locus of power had moved to the Ile de France and Paris. Cheverny, built between 1604 and 1634, seems only an exercise in Baroque symmetry. Although it has a wide facade, the building is only one room deep -- the château had become a stage curtain and little more.