Chambord Castle

The royal Chateau de Chambord at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France is one of the most recognisable chateaux in the world because of its very distinct French Renaissance architecture that blends traditional French medieval forms with classical Italian structures. It is the largest castle in the Loire Valley, but was built to serve only as a hunting lodge for King Francois I, who maintained his royal residences at Chateau de Blois and at chateau d?Amboise.

The original design of the Chateau de Chambord is attributed, though with several doubts, to Domenico da Cortona, whose wooden model for the design survived long enough to be drawn by Andre Felibien in the seventeenth century. Some authors, though, claim that the renaissance french architect Philibert Delorme had a considerable role in the chateau?s design.

Chambord was altered considerably during the twenty years of its construction (1519-1547), during which it was overseen on-site by Pierre Nepveu. In 1913 Marcel Reymond first suggested that Leonardo da Vinci, a guest of King Francois at Clos Luc near Amboise, was responsible for the original design, which reflects Leonardo?s plans for a Chateau at Romorantin for the King?s mother, and his interests in central planning and double helical staircases; the discussion has not yet concluded. Nearing completion, King Francois showed off his enormous symbol of wealth and power by hosting his old enemy, Emperor Charles V at Chambord.

The massive castle is composed of a central keep with four immense bastion towers at the corners. The keep also forms part of the front wall of a larger compound with two more large towers. Bases for a possible further two towers are found at the rear, but these were never developed, and remain the same height as the wall. The castle features 440 rooms, 365 fireplaces, and 84 staircases. Four rectangular vault hallways on each floor form a cross-shape.

The roofscape of Chambord contrasts with the masses of its masonry and has often been compared with the skyline of a town: it shows eleven kinds of towers and three types of chimneys, without symmetry, framed at the corners by the massive towers. The design parallels are north Italian and Leonardesque.