- Type
- Palace / château
- Origins
- 1519 · 16th century per Wikidata: founding, first mention or construction
- Location
- Centre-Val de Loire, France
- Style
- Renaissance architecture
- Commissioned by
- Francis I of France
- Architect
- Jacques Sourdeau, Pierre Nepveu
- Heritage
- UNESCO World Heritage List
- Coordinates
- 47.6161°, 1.5172°
History
King Francis I started building Chambord in 1519 as a lavish hunting residence in the forests of the Sologne. The designer is unknown, but scholars often link some of its ideas, especially the double staircase, to Leonardo da Vinci, who was living at the French court at the time. The king himself spent little time here, and work continued under his successors. In the 18th century the château was placed at the disposal of the exiled Polish king Stanisław Leszczyński and later of Marshal Maurice de Saxe. During the Second World War it served as a staging post for artworks evacuated from the Louvre, and today it belongs to the French state and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
What to see
At the heart of the château is the double-spiral staircase, on which two people can climb at the same time without ever meeting. Up on the roof terrace you find an astonishing thicket of chimneys, lanterns and turrets that looks like a miniature town. Inside are royal apartments and a tapestry collection, and the château is surrounded by a vast walled forest park roamed by deer and wild boar.
Wikipedia article Official website Wikidata Q205367
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