The Loire Valley in France is home to many chateaus that were the places where French royalty and bourgeoisie chose to spend much of their time. These are not just your ordinary houses. They are enormous structures, many dating back to the 16th century, used as second homes in the summer.
What these chateaus have in common are amazing architectural details.
Some appear to have been influenced by a variety of architectural styles
while others have a combination of Gothic and Renaissance features indicating that sections of the chateau were constructed at different times.
Here, the structure is one that could be right out of a fairy tale!
Not only is it in a magical setting, the interior is a delight, especially the kitchen which has enough copper cookware to stock several Williams Sonoma stores!
It was fascinating to learn that the contents of the chateaus were hauled back and forth between homes. Considering the size of these places, that sounds like a most daunting task.
Beds were particularly important furnishings because they were a sign of wealth. Speaking of beds, they are shorter than ours today but not necessarily because people were smaller but because they slept sitting almost erect for fear of choking. Now, that’s an interesting little tidbit.
There is much to see in each chateau, but what got my attention again and again were the tapestries.
They were in every room,
sometimes one for every wall. How could I not think that weavers in those long ago days were kept very busy.
Considering the age of these magnificent structures, I am once again struck by the accomplishments in periods where the actual building process was so primitive compared to today. One can only hope that something in our time should last so long.
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