Thursday 10 July 2014
The Chateau de Chenonceau is a French chateau spanning the River Cher, near the small village of Chenonceaux in the Indre-et-Loire departement of the Loire Valley in France. It is one of the most well-known chateaux of the Loire valley. The estate of Chenonceau is first mentioned in writing in the 11th century. The current chateau was built in 1514–1522 on the foundations of an old mill and was later extended to span the river. The bridge over the river was built (1556-1559) to designs by the French Renaissance architect Philibert de l'Orme, and the gallery on the bridge (1570–1576) to designs by Jean Bullant. In the 13th century, the fief of Chenonceau belonged to the Marques family. The original chateau was torched in 1412 to punish owner Jean Marques for an act of sedition. He rebuilt a chateau and fortified mill on the site in the 1430s. Jean Marques's indebted heir Pierre Marques found it necessary to sell. Source
