Image 7272645Chateau royal d'Amboise

Amboise castle A royal residence

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Overlooking the Loire, the Château d’Amboise was the residence of the kings of France during the Renaissance.

Amboise, an architectural jewel of the Renaissance, plunges its majestic silhouette into the Loire River, a World Heritage Site.

At the dawn of the Renaissance, the powerful medieval fortress of Amboise gave way to a royal residence under the reigns of the Kings of France Charles VIII and François I. At the invitation of the sovereigns, the Court and many European scholars and artists stayed here, such as Leonardo da Vinci, who is buried in the Château Chapel.

This landmark of French history boasts an exceptional collection of Gothic and Renaissance furniture, testifying to the artistic refinement of the early French Renaissance. After visiting the royal dwellings and the imposing cavalry towers, the walk continues through the beautiful panoramic gardens overlooking the Loire River.

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©Joelklinger.photography|Joelklinger.photography
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©Image 7161823|Château Royal d'Amboise
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©Jc Coutand Touraine Val De Loire|Jean-Christophe COUTAND-MEHEUT
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©Jardin Amboise 1 C.coutand|C.coutand
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©Jouets Anciens L De Serres Chateau D Amboise 1| L De Serres
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©1 Chateau Royal Damboise. Salle Du Conseil Jf Le Scour|Jf Le Scour
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©Image 2663368

    The genesis of the Château d'Amboise

    From origins to 1431

    Since Neolithic times, the Châteliers promontory has been an ideal observation post at the confluence of the Loire and one of its tributaries, the Amasse. The nearly forty-metre overhang provides an exceptional natural defence. The town became the principal city of the Turones, the Celtic people who gave their name to the future province of Touraine. The site was fortified as early as this period.

    The Roman legions also occupied the fortified site. Local chronicles tell of Julius Caesar (100 B.C.-44 B.C.) himself being seduced by the Amboise oppidum.

    However, the site made a lasting impact on history when Clovis (circa 466-481-511), king of the Franks, met Alaric (?-484-507), king of the Visigoths. After the troubled period of the Norman invasions, Amboise became part of the domain of the Counts of Anjou, then of the House of Amboise-Chaumont. In 1214, Touraine was taken over by Philippe Auguste (1165- 1180- 1223), King of France. The d’Amboise-Chaumont family became vassals.

    But in 1431, Louis d’Amboise (1392-1469) was sentenced to death for plotting against the favorite of King Charles VII (1403- 1422-1461), La Trémouille (1384-1446). Eventually pardoned, Louis d’Amboise had to relinquish the Château d’Amboise, which was confiscated in favor of the Crown.

    This marked the beginning of the château’s most sumptuous days, notably under the reigns of French kings Louis XI, Charles VIII and François 1er, who brought a particularly rich court life to Amboise.

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    ©Jardins Du Chateau Amboise @leonard De Serres2 Bis|Leonard De Serres

      Amboise, seat of the French court

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      ©Image 1043623|ADT Touraine Joël Klinger

        15th and 16th centuries

        The arrival in Bourges of Charles VII (1403- 1422-1461) and his wife Marie d’Anjou (1404- 1463) marked the beginning of the French kings’ stay in the Loire Valley. However, the latter preferred the châteaux of Loches and Chinon to the fortified Château d’Amboise.

        His son, Louis XI (1423- 1461-1483), resided at his château de Plessis-Lès-Tours (La Riche). However, he chose Amboise for the residence of the queen, Charlotte of Savoy (1441/ 1461/1483), and the dauphin – the future Charles VIII (1470- 1483-1498) – born in Amboise in 1470. He built a new dwelling and an oratory, leaning against the southern perimeter wall, at the origin of the future Chapelle Saint-Hubert.

        Charles VIII (1470- 1483-1498) and his wife, Anne of Brittany (1477/ 1491-1498/1499-1514), left a lasting impression on Amboise. The king’s attachment to the castle of his childhood was certainly a major factor in his desire to transform the ancient medieval stronghold into a sumptuous Gothic palace. Charles VIII was also the castle’s great architect, ordering the construction of two ceremonial lodgings and a chapel on the site of his father’s oratory. He also commissioned the construction of two cavalry towers (a third was never completed) of exceptional dimensions. These enabled horses and carriages to link the town to the castle terraces 40 meters above. This exceptionally large-scale project mobilized the royal treasury and continued despite military campaigns in the Italian peninsula.

        Innovative techniques were even developed to heat the stones and keep them from freezing in winter, so that the work could continue. The king called on French masons, Flemish sculptors and, on his return from Italy, transalpine artists: carpenters, gardeners and architects. The château now had 220 rooms.

        A citadel, a stopover for the sovereigns of France

        17th and 18th centuries

        At the end of the 16th century, Amboise retained its function as a stronghold due to its strategic position, but became a stopover for French sovereigns on their travels around the kingdom, such as Henri IV (1553- 1589- 1610), Louis XIII (1601- 1610-1643), Louis XIV (1638- 1643-1715) and his grandson Philippe duc d’Anjou (1683- 1700/1724-1746), the future Philip V of Spain.

        In 1620, however, Louis XIII ordered the construction of new defenses. However, due to lack of maintenance, the Château gradually fell into disrepair, with some of the main buildings in the Château’s western enclosure (between the Chapelle Saint-Hubert and the Logis Charles VIII) demolished between 1627 and 1660. Amboise was also used as a prison. Famous prisoners were held here, such as Nicolas Fouquet (1615-1680), Louis XIV’s Superintendent of Finances, disgraced in 1661. He was escorted by the famous musketeer captain d’Artagnan (c. 1615-1673) during this stay.

        Amboise was finally awakened from its slumber in the 18th century by Étienne-François, Duc de Choiseul (1719-1785), the powerful minister of Louis XV (1710- 1715-1774). He became the owner in 1763, along with the nearby Chanteloup estate, where he had a sumptuous château built in the taste of the time. He also preferred to live there rather than in the citadel of Amboise, where he set up factories.

        On Choiseul’s death, his immense estate was bought by the Crown and sold in 1786 to Louis-Jean-Marie de Bourbon, Duc de Penthièvre (1725-1793), the legitimate grandson of Louis XIV. From 1789 onwards, he fitted out the apartments, demolishing the columns and partitioning off the Grand Salle. He installed a panoramic dining room overlooking the Tour des Minimes. He ordered work to be carried out in the gardens: staggered lime trees were planted on the north terrace, and an English-style park was laid out. At the western end of the fortress, he had a pagoda built on the Garçonnet tower, in the Chinese style.

        In 1789, the logis des Sept-Vertus was destroyed by fire.

        Les Coulisses De L'Histoire 3 1Les Coulisses De L'Histoire 3 1
        ©Les Coulisses De L'Histoire 3 1|Château Royal d'Amboise
        21. Buis Boules . Chateau Damboise L. De Serres21. Buis Boules . Chateau Damboise L. De Serres
        ©21. Buis Boules . Chateau Damboise L. De Serres|JMB
        1. Guide Chateau Royal Damboise L. De Serres1. Guide Chateau Royal Damboise L. De Serres
        ©1. Guide Chateau Royal Damboise L. De Serres|L. De Serres

          A detention center during the Revolution

          The French Revolution changed the Château’s destiny forever. In 1793, the authorities confiscated the Château and its furnishings in order to turn it into a detention center and barracks for veterans of the campaigns waged by the revolutionary armies.

          The dismantling of the Château also wiped out most of its decorative elements: panelling, fireplaces, statuary, painting, ironwork, carpentry, etc. After a fleeting hope of recovering their possessions, the heiress of the Duc de Penthièvre, Louise-Marie-Adelaïde, Duchesse d’Orléans, went into exile following the Coup d’État of 18 fructidor de l’An V (September 4, 1797), under the terms of a decree forcing the Bourbons to leave France.

          Outrages and the revival of a historic monument

          19th and 20th centuries

          The Consulate (1799-1804) and the Empire (1804-1814/1815) opened a new chapter in the life of the Château. In 1803, Amboise was donated to Senator Roger Ducos (1747-1816), a former member of the Directoire, whom First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte (future Napoleon I) (1769-1799/ 1804-1814-1815-1821) wished to thank for his help in taking power.

          In 1806, to “renovate the Château”, the Senator ordered the destruction of the ruined buildings (the logis des Sept-Vertus and adjoining buildings) and those no longer needed. In particular, he ordered the demolition of the Henri II wing, the 11th-century Collegiate Church of Saint-Florentin and the canon’s house. The garden was also redesigned. All work was completed in 1811.

          In 1814, during the first Restoration, the Château was restored to the Duc de Penthièvre’s heiress, Louise-Marie-Adélaïde de Bourbon, Duchesse d’Orléans (1753-1821), who had returned from her Spanish exile. After temporarily returning to its role as a prison fortress during the Hundred Days, Amboise was definitively returned to the d’Orléans family in 1815.

          On her death, the duchess passed on the Amboise estate to her son Louis-Philippe (1773- 1830/1848-1850), the future King of France. He commissioned renovations to transform the château into a holiday resort. The work was entrusted to renowned architect Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine (1762-1853) and his disciple, Pierre-Bernard Lefranc (1795-1856). King Louis-Philippe 1st, an ardent defender of France’s heritage, supported the classification of monuments emblematic of national history, foremost among which was Amboise, classified as early as 1840.

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            The château is placed in receivership

            The 1848 Revolution led to the exile of Louis-Philippe I and the Château d’Amboise was placed under sequestration. The château was once again used to hold a prominent prisoner, Emir Abd el-Kader (1808-1883), the deposed leader of the Algerian rebellion, who was incarcerated there with his retinue from November 1848.

            The promise made to the Emir at the time of his surrender to transfer him to the land of Islam was not honored until four years later by Prince-President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (1808-1848/ 1852-1873), who came to Amboise in October 1852 to notify him of his release.

            The Emir left France for Brousse, Constantinople (Turkey) and Damascus (Syria). But he left behind him sincere friendships with Amboise residents and the memory of 25 members of his retinue who died and were buried at the Château. Amboisians also contributed to the construction of a mausoleum on a terrace of the Château in 1853 (the “Jardin d’Orient”, designed by Rachid Koraïchi, was laid out on the site of the burials and mausoleum in 2005).

            The return of the estate to the Orléans family heritage

            The fall of the Second Empire (1852-1870) and the advent of the Third Republic (1870-1940) marked the return of the estate to the Orléans family. Philippe (1838-1894), Count of Paris and grandson of Louis Philippe I, initiated a vast program of restoration. With the château now listed as a historic monument, the French government appointed an architect to lead the project. Victor-Marie-Charles Ruprich-Robert (1820-1887) and his son Gabriel, both inspectors of historic monuments, were chosen. They carried out remarkable restoration work on the Chapelle Saint-Hubert, the logis Charles VIII and the Tour des Minimes (1874-1879), followed by the Renaissance wing (1896- 1897) and the Tour Heurtault (1906).

            The Duc d’Aumale (1822-1897) commissioned the work. He died three years later, and the château, which had already housed a hospice, was transformed in accordance with his wishes into a dispensary for the former servants of his family in 1901. The Château d’Amboise became part of the Société civile du domaine de Dreux, created in 1886 to manage the historic heritage of the House of France.

            The Second World War

            The last tragic episode for the Château and the town of Amboise occurred during the Second World War. On September 4, 1939, the château was requisitioned. Tourist access to the chapel and the Tour Heurtault walkway was maintained until May 22, 1940.

            In June 1940, the French army, in the midst of a debacle, gradually retreated south of the Loire. From June 4 to 15, 1940, the château’s logis royal became the short-lived headquarters of the French Air Ministry, which then continued its withdrawal to Bordeaux.

            On June 18 and 19, 1940, a regiment of Senegalese riflemen put up remarkably brave resistance to German troops entering Amboise. Material damage was extensive (around a hundred shells fell on the château), affecting the chapel, the Garçonnet tower and the Minimes tower. After its evacuation, the château suffered for 15 days from the uncontrolled influx of refugees and German troops. It was then used by occupying troops as a weapons depot and as a communications and aerial detection post.

            In July 1944, it was bombed by the Allies, damaging the facades of the dwelling, the stained-glass windows and the roof of the Saint-Hubert chapel. On August 1, 1944, the château was deserted by the last units of the German army.

            An inventory of the damage was drawn up a few days later. In 1952, the French government began to support the restoration campaign.

            In 1974, the Société civile du domaine de Dreux was transformed into the Fondation Saint-Louis, in line with changes in legislation governing the management of cultural property. The Foundation, which owned the property, launched a major program to restore and enhance the monument.

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