5 Things You Didn’t Know About Chambord Castle
The Château de Chambord, in the Loire Valley, is one of the most famous and surprising constructions in France, due to its spectacular Renaissance architecture. If you want to know more about this impressive castle by way of curiosities, do not stop reading, we promise that you will be surprised.
1. It was built to serve as a hunting lodge
Despite the magnitude and importance of the Château de Chambord , it was built simply to serve as a hunting lodge for King Francis I of France. And it is that the residences of the monarch were going to continue being the castle of Blois and the castle of Amboise. All of them are part of the set of castles of the Loire, which were declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco.
Likewise, Francis I of France fell in love with the works of the Renaissance on his visit to Italy, so when he returned to his country he wanted to put this style into practice in what would be the castle of Chambord. The architect in charge of the construction was Domenico de Cortona, although some plans were inspired by the ideas of a true genius: Leonardo da Vinci.
2. Its park, the largest in Europe
The park that surrounds the castle has no less than 5,540 hectares of land, making it the largest closed forest park in Europe. In addition, it has been declared a National Reserve of Wild Fauna and Hunting. And it is that more than eight hundred deer and fifteen hundred wild boars inhabit it, which move among various plant species, predominantly holm oaks and pine forests.
On the other hand, during the mating season, hundreds of onlookers and nature lovers flock to the Château de Chambord to witness the bellowing and behavior of the deer. This is just a sample of the great diversity of interesting corners that this place has.
3. The mystery of the staircase of the Château de Chambord
The central staircase of the Château de Chambord has the peculiarity: one person can go up while another can go down it without both of them crossing each other at any time. The reason? It consists of two sections that seem to form a whole when viewed from the outside, when in fact they are mounted one on top of the other, like strands of a helix.
It is unknown who was the creator of this mysterious staircase of 9 meters in diameter and that rises from the ground floor to the intermediate terraces of the castle. However, there are many who point out that it was Leonardo da Vinci himself who designed it, since some of his drawings coincide with the construction plans.
4. It housed the laboratory of the Count of Saint-Germain
The Comte de Saint-Germain was an enigmatic inventor and alchemist. He tried to interest the king in some new silk dyeing systems he had been working on. In return, he asked to be granted some lots where he could experiment. Finally he got what he wanted from the hand of the Marquis de Marigny, who gave him the Château de Chambord as his residence.
Already in his new home, Saint-Germain dedicated himself to carrying out other alchemical works due to the impossibility of carrying out his initial task, since the Seven Years’ War prevented him from receiving the necessary goods. The count is also believed to have performed evocations of magic and the occult. And it is that it has always been known to be a recurring figure in stories about occult sciences.
5. Scene of Molière’s works
The Château de Chambord was renovated several times. One of them by order of King Louis XIV, who, among other things, and given his passion for comedy, ordered an area to be set up to perform the functions of a small theater. It was precisely in this room that Molière premiered some of his most important works, such as The Bourgeois Gentleman .
You have already seen it, the Château de Chambord is not only a spectacular building for its architecture, it also contains some stories and anecdotes that are worth knowing.
