Loire Valley Chateau de Blois

Loire Valley - the Château de Blois

Blois is an ancient town situated between Orleans and Tours in the Loir-et-Cher region of the Loire Valley. The Château de Blois is one of the most famous and most impressive of the 300 chateaux in the Loire Valley. It is also one of the most historically important, as it was here that King Henri III had his rival Henri Duc de Guise asassinated in 1588, thus determining the future direction of France for centuries to come. It is located on the right bank of the River Loire, in the centre of the town of Blois, and is now a fine example of how architecture evolved from the Middle Ages to the Classical Period. It was the preferred residence of the Kings of France throughout the Renaissance Period.

It gained some notoriety in the 9th century when during the reign of Charles le Chauve (Charles the Bald) it became home to “Blesum Castrum” – the Château de Blois. In the year 854, it was attacked by Vikings.

The fortress was rebuilt and was at the centre of the domain of the Counts of Blois, powerful feudal landowners and lords during the Xth and XIth centuries with estates stretching through the regions of Blois, Chartres and Champagne.

The first fortress was built by Thibaud le Tricheur (Thibaud the Cheat) in the Xth century. There is also a charter showing Thibaud III, dispensing justice in the fortress of Blois near the tower castle.

After the feudal period, the castle was rebuilt by the Châtillon family in the thirteenth century and became one of the most beautiful and imposing castles of the Kingdom of France, as indicated in the chronicles of Jean Froissard. In 1392, the last descendant of the Châtillon family, Guy II de Blois-Chatillon, sold the castle to the brother of King Charles VI, Gaston d’Orléans, who took possession of it in 1397 at the death of Guy II.

Gaston d'Orleans
Louis d'Orléans was assassinated in Paris in 1407 on the orders of Jean sans Peur (Jean the Fearless), Duke of Bourgogne. Louis’ widow Valentine Visconti, left Paris to live at Blois where she died the following year, after having had engraved on the castle walls “Rien ne m'est plus, plus ne m'est rien”(There is nothing more for me, more is nothing for me).
Joan of Arc also made Blois the base for her operations, in 1492, for the relief of Orleans where Charles, son of Louis d’Orleans was being held prisoner by the English. When Charles eventually returns from captivity in England in 1440 he rebuilds parts of the castle. Of the fortress of this period there remains only the Grande Salle and the cylindrical tower of Foix.

In 1462, Charles d’Orléans’ son was born in the Château of Blois. He became King of France in 1498, under the name of Louis XII. It was at this time that the castle became the principal Royal residence for the King. With his wife Anne de Bretagne, the King embarked upon rebuilding the castle in a late gothic style, with a Renaissance garden. The castle was also used at that time as a place for diplomatic meetings and venues.

In 1515 Francois I set up court at the castle and started work on a second wing in a Renaissance Style. Charles Quint stayed at the castle in 1539.

La Chambre de la Reine

The castle was home to the Kings of France of this period, Henri II, Henri III, François II, Charles IX and Queen Catherine de Medicis who came back to the castle to die.

Henry III

King Henry III, who was driven from Paris during the Wars of Religion, took up residence at Blois, where he held the Estates-General convention 1576 and 1588. During this convention, on 23rd December 1588 the king had his arch-rival, Henri de Guise, assassinated in his room on the second floor by the king’s bodyguard known as "the Forty-five". His body was burned in one of the rooms and his remains thrown into the Loire. The same day his son Charles and his brother Louis, Cardinal de Guise and Cardinal de Lorraine were arrested. The cardinal was executed the next day in the dungeons.
.................................. Henri Duc de Guise
This led to further bloody battles between the supporters of Henri III and the supporters of Henri Duc de Guise and eventually led to Henri III himself being stabbed by a monk Jacques Clement, a member of the League, on 1st August 1589, he died on 2nd August. Henri III was the last of the Valois Dynasty (1328 - 1589).

Henri III was succeeded by his cousin Henri de Navarre - Henri IV - the first King of the Bourbon dynasty.

In 1626, Louis XIII gave the whole of the County of Blois to his brother, who loved the castle and who claimed that the air around Blois was curing him, but when he died, in 1660, the castle was abandoned.

Louis XIV didn’t live in the castle, and let old servants divide the rooms of the castle into a number of smaller apartments. In 1720, the Regency decided to install the Parliament in exile in it. In 1788 the War Ministry billeted the Royal Comtois, a cavalry regiment in it.

The fictional Musketeer, Athos, the count of La Fère, from "Les Trois Mousquetaires" by Alexandre Dumas, has a castle in Blois.

By the time of the Revolution in 1789, the castle had already been abandoned for 130 years, and everything that reminded people of the monarchy was plundered. The building fell into such a state of disrepair that its demolition was contemplated, but Napoléon I donated it to the town of Blois en 1810. As a result of the lack of money, the castle was again used as army barracks. Even so the François 1 wing was opened to the public and visited by famous writers of the day such as Victor Hugo, Honoré de Balzac and Alexandre Dumas.

In 1841 the castle was listed as an ancient monument and was partly restored, thanks to the efforts of Prosper Mérimée.

.................................. The Spiral Staircase

Today, the Château of Blois is a combination of a variety of styles - gothic, Renaissance, classic, with traces of the Medieval castle that was there in the past.

Inside the visitors can admire amongst other features:-
The Salle des Etats, the oldest civil gothic room in France.
The Musée Lapidaire, which contains a range of items found in a medieval castle.
The magnificent Chambre de la Reine (Queen’s Chamber) - the room in which Catherine de Medicis died.
The Chambre du Roi (King’s Chamber) – which has the largest fireplace in the Castle.
The Gaston d’Orléans Wing houses a room devoted to the history of the castle and other rooms designed for temporary exhibitions and conferences.

Opening Times of the Chateau de Blois
From January 2 to March 31 : 9 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and 1.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m.
From April 1 to June 30 : 9 a.m. to 6.30 p.m.
From July 1 to August 31 : 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
From September 1 to September 30 : 9 a.m. to 6.30 p.m.
From October 1 to November 2 : 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
From November 3 to December 31 : 9 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and 1.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m.

The ticket office closes 30 minutes before the closing time for the castle .