Читать книгу The Loire Cycle Route. From the source in the Massif Central to the Atlantic coast онлайн

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The age of the Kings

For 250 years from 1434, when Charles VII seized the château of Amboise (Stage 18), a succession of kings either lived in or spent a lot of time in their royal residences along the Loire and its nearby tributaries. Amboise became a favoured palace and an escape from the unhealthy climate and political intrigues of Paris for Louis XI (1461–1483) and Charles VIII (1483–1498), who rebuilt the château. Louis XII (1498–1515) ruled from Blois (Stage 17), where he had built the front part of the château. His successor François I (1515–1547) greatly enlarged Blois, although he preferred Amboise, which became his principal royal palace. François also commissioned the totally over-the-top Chambord (Stage 18) as a hunting lodge on the edge of the Sologne. Despite taking 28 years and 1800 men to build, it was used for less than seven weeks before being abandoned as impractical, following which it remained unfurnished and unused for 80 years. After François’s death his widow ruled from Chenonceau as regent for underage François II. When Henri III (1574–1589) was driven from Paris by the Wars of Religion he chose to rule from Blois, as did Henri IV (1589–1610). Louis XIII (1610–1643) returned the court permanently to Paris and gave all the royal châteaux in the Loire Valley to his brother, Gaston d’Orléans, who started to restore Chambord. This restoration was continued by the keen huntsman Louis XIV (1643–1715), who furnished the château only to abandon it again in 1685.