Sights of France - Villandry Castle. Ancient castle of Villandry in France Castle of Villandry France history briefly
About the castle
Any trip to France necessarily includes a visit to Paris. But if the tour is not limited to Paris alone, then they almost always visit famous castles Loire. The castles are famous for the fact that they were built mainly during the Renaissance, and were the residences of French kings and their closest relatives. Villandry Castle (Chateau de Villandry) is one of these buildings, built not so much for military purposes, but for a beautiful, majestic and comfortable (at the level of those centuries) life.
The castle is located near the Loire. Near the Castle of Villandry since ancient times there were even more ancient building, which served as a fortress. Here, in 1189, a historic meeting took place between Philip Augustus, King of France, and Henry II Plantagenet, King of England, at which the two monarchs signed a peace treaty. Several centuries later, the fortress became the property of Jean Le Breton, who, on behalf of King Francis I, built the castles of Fontainebleau and Chambord. Breton decided to build a castle for himself. This is how Villandry Castle appeared.
Architecture
Villandry Castle has an elegant and festive appearance, because it was not built for war. From the old fortress, only the donjon remained, near which a new U-shaped building was built, the front courtyard of which overlooked the Loire. Both wings of the building were built in the Renaissance style, in which all palaces were built at the beginning of the 16th century. The facade looks out at the world with large windows with pilasters and capitals, decorated with an elegant frieze and other stucco and carved decorations, and the facade windows are designed in such a way that they introduce some element of asymmetry into the wings of the palace. On the sides of the courtyard there are arched galleries.
The next owner of the castle, the Marquis de Castellan, introduced additional decorations into the architecture of the castle: arched windows, added balconies, closed the colonnade of the first floor and installed kitchens and utility rooms there. Subsequently, the castle was restored to its original shape as far as possible. The interiors have been preserved mainly from the 18th century.
The castle is partially surrounded by a moat. However, the main attraction is not the moat, but the incomparable three-level garden. Le Breton, who designed the castle, saw many Italian gardens created by famous Renaissance masters. Italian gardens formed a single ensemble with the buildings, serving as an organic backdrop for the palaces. Italian gardens are characterized by strict geometric shapes and wide alleys lined with trimmed bushes. French gardens differ from Italian ones in larger sizes, so that the buildings against their background look smaller than they actually are. With such large gardens, fences become unnecessary.
At the highest level of the Villandry garden there are fruit trees and a wonderful pond that supplies water to the palace itself and the fountains on the lower levels. This site borders on a magnificent timber forest. The paths under the trees are barely noticeable. The middle terrace is on the same level as the halls of the first floor; it is a decorative garden. And on the lower level there is a vegetable garden.
An ornamental garden is a garden of love. It is divided into four squares, in which the bushes are planted in the shape of allegorical figures of love. In the northwest there is a heart pierced by an arrow, denoting love-passion. In the northeast square, bushes with yellow flowers represent horns, fans and love notes, which symbolize adulterous love. The southwest is dedicated to tender love: hearts separated by flames and masquerade masks. In the southeast, love is tragic with red flowers of blood and sword blades. The southernmost part of the garden contains images of the Cross of Languedoc, the Cross of Malta and the Cross of the Basque Country.
The Garden of Love is separated from the vegetable garden by a moat, and then there is a lovely view of the village with a church bell tower. The vegetable garden is so skillfully planned that vegetables and fruit trees form large colorful parterres. An additional decoration for the garden is fountains.
Story
The castle was built for himself by the secretary of state of King Francis I of France, Jean le Breton, in the 16th century. Somewhat later it underwent a slight reconstruction, but basically the palace has reached us in its original form thanks to the next owner of the castle, Doctor Carvalho. On his initiative, an association of owners of historical monuments was created in 1906, which subsequently made it possible to open the castles to the public. Dr. Carvalho organized restoration work at the castle, returning the windows to their original appearance and renovating the gardens. The doctor did not change the interior decoration of the castle.
For tourists
Inside the castle you can see the dining room, staircase and art gallery. Of course, no tourist remains indifferent when visiting the gardens. If desired, you can organize an exhibition or conference or seminar in the castle by booking a place in advance.
Cost of visit:
- Adults: castle and gardens - €9.5; gardens - €6.5;
- Adults with audio guide: castle and gardens - €12.5; gardens - €9.5;
- Short version: castle and gardens - €5.5; gardens - €4
- Short version with audio guide: castle and gardens - €8.5; gardens - €7
- Group min. 15 people: castle and gardens - €7; gardens - €4.5
- Group min. 15 people with audio guide: castle and gardens - €10; gardens - €7.5
Gardens open every day, all year round, from 9:00 to 18:00.
You can get to Villandry Castle in different ways. From Paris by car take the A10 to Saumur and from there take the A85 to Villandry. By train from Montparnasse station to Tours, and from there by taxi.
From Nantes by car take the A11 road and then the A85 highway. By train to Tours or Saint-Pierre-de-Coras, then by taxi.
From Tours, in addition to taxis, in July and August there are also services to Villandry. public transport. It is also recommended to use a bicycle along the Loire along a special path.
In this part, which I announced a few days ago, I will show you another castle in the Loire Valley. Considering my dislike for tourist attractions worn out by millions of feet, it would be strange to expect us to go there. This is one of the most famous French castles; tons of paper guidebooks and terabytes on the Internet are filled with stories about it and its photographs.
But I still included it in the route. There were several good reasons for this. And Villandry not only did not disappoint us, but also became the highlight of our vacation and route.
So what were the compelling reasons that prompted me to add Villandry to the route? What's so unique about it?
Firstly, the gardens. I love any gardens and plants. I love tomatoes - smelling them and eating them; flowers - smell, admire and photograph; regular gardens - look around, rustle pebbles underfoot on the paths and admire the grace of forms and the skill of the masters of topiary art; English parks - well, you already understand..
I am especially interested in parks and gardens, which are not just filled with plants, but created with some meaning, an idea. The Villandry gardens are just such an amazing work of art. This is a painting, a theatrical stage, and a living embodiment of legends in which plants play the main roles.
(photo from here)
Secondly, the history of the castle. But not the part in which the crowned persons and the intrigues of the courtiers (which, by the way, never existed here), but the period of restoration, reconstruction - in fact, the story of one family who devoted their entire life to the revival and reconstruction of this castle and its gardens . And they did this with incredible scrupulousness and love, with careful and deep insight into the essence, idea and design.
Well finally , this castle was radically different from the intimate and delicate, like a lady’s box, Azay-le-Rideau, which we had already visited (in case someone hasn’t read it).
Generally speaking, the “Loire castles” are a separate tourist attraction offered by any travel agency. I didn’t want to join the general tourist carousel flow, so for the vacation program I selected several castles that would be as different from each other as possible. In the end, even though they were turned into candy licked to a glossy level, into emasculated decorations, they still have real story real people, a series of times, feelings, emotions and events.
So what makes Villandry unique? Well, first of all, it is not a royal residence, and not even a gift to some courtesan or favorite. The first owner was Jean Le Breton, Minister of Finance under Francis I.
Once upon a time there was a feudal fortress, in the donjon of which on July 4, 1189, a peace treaty was signed between the King of England Henry II Plantagenet, who admitted his defeat, and the King of France, Philip Augustus. Exactly two days after this, Henry II died.
And it was on the ruins of this fortress that Jean Le Breton began construction in 1532. He was fond of architecture, had excellent taste, and as a result, Villandry turned out to be harmonious, elegant, perfectly integrated into the landscape and quite laconic, devoid of turrets, conical roofs and other “fluffs” that were so fashionable at that time.
By the way, part of the donjon where the famous document was signed remains. This architectural element, like the battlements on the top of the wall, recalls the historical purpose of the predecessor fortress of Villandry.
Jean Le Breton was ambassador to Rome, where he became interested in architecture and studied with interest the art of arranging gardens. And he later applied all this with taste and great success in Villandry. However, subsequent owners over the course of many decades did not care much about the safety of this beauty. And by the beginning of the 20th century, when Joachim Carvallo came to inspect it, the castle, due to the changes made and added windows, looked more like a barracks, and not a trace remained of the garden.
Joachim Carvallo at that time was a promising scientist and physician who, being the laureate's favorite student Nobel Prize to Karl Richet, under his leadership he carried out research in the field of physiology of digestion. But he gave up a promising career, bought Villandry and, together with his wife Anne Coleman, an American from a wealthy family of industrialists, set about recreating the original appearance of the castle.
(photo from here)
He delved into historical documents, looked for eyewitness accounts, conducted entire studies, supervised the work of masons and gardeners, and in the end he succeeded incredibly! Now, several interactive structures have been installed in the garden, allowing all visitors, with the help of chronicle footage, to get an idea of the amount of work that Mr. Carvallo had to do.
In 1924, he founded the “Historical House” society, which united all owners of such real estate. And it was he who initiated the idea of opening these castles to the public. He opened Villandry to visitors in 1920. Now his great-grandson Henri Carvallo continues his work.
We started our inspection with the interiors. There's a lot to see there. Authentic household items, furniture, beautiful parquet flooring, a magnificent collection of paintings. And, of course, beautiful views from the windows overlooking the garden.
And my favorite topic is the kitchen! Copper, shiny sides of basins and frying pans, paths trampled over centuries on a stone floor, a stove, a light aroma of smoked prunes and dumpy chairs - all my favorites, yes.
Children's room with a cradle.
Bedroom with windows overlooking the garden.
Children's bedroom with a row of books on a shelf, with toys and a cozy bed.
AND game room with huge dollhouse in the form of Villandry himself and the glove puppet theater.
Another treasure is the ceiling in the East Living Room. It was brought here by Carvallo in 1905. This ceiling was part of the Maqueda Count's Palace, built in the 15th century in Toledo. The palace was dismantled, and three of its four Moorish wooden, inlaid ceilings are now in Madrid at the National archaeological museum, and the fourth, thanks to Mr. Carvallo, can be seen by all visitors to Villandry. This is simply a masterpiece! Incredibly delicate, complex work that gives rise to a fantastic play of volumes, color and light. Very beautiful!
And there are flowers everywhere! In each room there are several vases filled with fresh, fragrant, fragrant bouquets cut right here in the garden.
Villandry Gardens are unique. I didn’t make a reservation - it was the gardens. Because this is not one garden, but a whole complex of different gardens. An apothecary garden with herbs and potions, an Ornamental garden, a garden of Love, a garden of Music, a garden of Water, a garden of the Sun, created recently. They are all full of symbolism, each has its own philosophy and legend. You can and should walk along them for hours, enjoying and finding something amazing and beautiful at every step.
The Garden of Love, consisting of “pictograms” in which Passionate Love, Windy Love, Tragic Love are encrypted.
The Vegetable Garden was created in the image and likeness of the monastery “vegetable” gardens. Here all the ornaments are made up of vegetables, herbs, and herbs selected by color. Twice a year the garden is planted with vegetables. Each year the exhibition changes in accordance with considerations of harmony, preservation of soil fertility and chemical-free farming. Forty types of vegetables and herbs are planted here each season, watered by an automatic system located below the surface of the earth.
From different points in the garden and from different rooms of the castle open different types to the garden, each of which is incredibly beautiful.
There is also a small shop where you can buy seeds and seedlings of everything that is grown in the gardens of Villandry.
I couldn’t resist and brought a wonderful souvenir from there - sets of seeds. This year, due to some unpleasant events, it was not possible to sow them, but they have a long shelf life - next year I will still have time to try them. If the result is not embarrassing to show, I will definitely show it to you, don’t hesitate!
In the meantime, they lie and remind us that dreams and hard work can produce a bountiful harvest of joy and beauty that people can enjoy for many, many generations to come.
Often in castles with parks it is possible to buy a ticket either for the castle only or for the castle + park. In Villandry, the opposite is true - either a castle + garden (10 euros), or only a garden (6.50 euros). Indeed, people come to Villandry precisely for the gardens...
In 1189, in Villandry, which at that time was the fortified fortress of Colombier, a meeting took place between the King of France, Philip Augustus, and the King of England. Henry II Plantagenet. The conversation ended with the signing of the “Colombier Peace Treaty” in favor of Philip-Augustus.
Villandry Castle ( Chateau de Villandry)
Several centuries later, the castle became the property of the Secretary of State of Francis I, Jean le Breton. A descendant of immigrants from Scotland wanted to build for himself beautiful castle, different from other medieval fortresses. The most ancient buildings were demolished, and in 1536 construction began on a new building in the shape of the letter P.
Villandry Castle ( Chateau de Villandry)
The two wings of the castle are an example of Renaissance architecture; in their construction, elements characteristic of 16th-century castles were used: large windows decorated with pilasters and capitals, friezes, dormers with volutes and tympanums.
Villandry Castle ( Chateau de Villandry)
The interior of the castle dates back to the 18th century.
Villandry Castle ( Chateau de Villandry)
There is no special luxury here, but everything is done with taste.
Villandry Castle ( Chateau de Villandry)
The dining room is available for inspection...
Villandry Castle ( Chateau de Villandry)
Bedroom...
Villandry Castle ( Chateau de Villandry)
There is even an art gallery.
Villandry Castle ( Chateau de Villandry)
The ceiling of the room with paintings is made in the Moorish style.
Ceiling
There are also sculptures with hard scenes.
Sculpture
On two of the four sides the castle is surrounded by a moat with water.
Villandry Castle ( Chateau de Villandry)
There are teeming fish here. There are also gold ones.
Fish
The canal runs through the entire garden, which has a clear structure.
On the lower level there is a decorative vegetable garden. This part of the ensemble is made in the form of 9 multi-colored flower beds. In the 16th century were created botanical gardens, in which specimens of plants unknown in Europe until that time were planted. The Villandry gardens were restored at the beginning of the 20th century. thanks to Dr. Joaquim Carvalho. In square flower beds you can see cabbage, carrots, beets, lettuce, as well as apple and pear trees.
Gardens of Villandry
The decorative boxwood garden of the middle terrace represents the "Gardens of Love".
Gardens of Villandry
4 large squares depict allegories of love - Passionate love, Infidelity, Tender feelings and Tragic love.
Gardens of Villandry
In the upper left square of the terrace there are three large diamonds, within which the Languedoc, Maltese and Basque crosses can be seen.
Gardens of Villandry
The upper level is a water mirror.
Water Garden (Jardin d'eau)
There is an alley around the pond. There is no path here - so it’s even somehow awkward that you have to pull out the grass.
Water Garden (Jardin d'eau)
Swans swim peacefully in the pond.
Water Garden (Jardin d'eau)
The park is so big that it seems completely deserted.
Water Garden (Jardin d'eau)
Here I happily lay on the grass. During our French trip we visited several park ensembles. So it was the Villandry gardens that I liked the most!
Water Garden (Jardin d'eau)
To the side of the park with a pond is the Garden of the Sun.
This garden is filled with a variety of flowers.
Garden of the Sun (Jardin du soleil)
And underneath there was a small boxwood labyrinth.
Labyrinth
This completed our “castle” trip, and we returned to Saint-Nazaire...
Villandry Castle is different from others castles of the Loire with its amazing three-level gardens, which have no analogues anywhere else in the world!
The Villandry fortress has stood on this site for a long time; it was here, on July 4, 1189, that the historic meeting between King Philip Augustus of France and the English monarch Henry II Plantagenet took place, as a result of which a peace agreement was signed Azay-le-Rideau
In the 16th century, Jean le Breton, the personal secretary of Francis I, settled here, overseeing the construction of the Chambord and Fontainebleau residences.
Feeling all his importance, Le Breton decided to make himself more comfortable, for which he demolished all the ancient buildings except the central donjon and erected a luxurious Renaissance castle in the shape of a horseshoe in their place.
The construction of Villandry Castle was completed in 1536, making it the last Renaissance castle belonging to the Loire Valley
The courtyard of the new castle, surrounded on both sides by a gallery of arcades, faces the Loire, and both of its wings are still considered an example of Renaissance architecture
Villandry also owes his gardens to the royal secretary, who spent quite a long time in Italy as an ambassador, where he studied the intricacies of the art of landscaping from paintings by Italian Renaissance artists
As a result, having taken on the task of creating unique gardens that have no analogues anywhere else in France, Le Breton created a truly amazing composition consisting of three levels...
On the upper terrace, which is a water mirror, the royal secretary laid out an orchard with cozy paths running between the trees.
On the middle terrace, located approximately at the level of the first floor of the castle, he arranged the so-called “Gardens of Love”, which will be discussed below.
On the lower terrace, the Scotsman has arranged a decorative vegetable garden, in the colorful flower beds of which vegetables such as pumpkin, cabbage, carrots and beets, and fruit trees, among which apple and pear trees predominate, are crowded together.
From here there is a beautiful view of the village with the high bell tower of the Romanesque church, and the landscape is completed by low fountains in the shape of eight-pointed stars, originally used for watering plants and trees.
One of the terraces opens onto the Audience Pavilion - a kind of gazebo where you can hide from the heat
The gardens are surrounded by a canal that serves both for irrigation and framing.
Villandry's "Gardens of Love" are 4 regular squares: the northwestern one is planted in the shape of hearts struck by arrows and personifies passionate love; in the northeastern square, plants of yellow shades are planted, which is supposed to depict infidelity; the southwestern sector consists of hearts separated by flames, symbolizing tender feelings; the southeastern square is planted with sword points and blood-red flowers, personifying tragic love. The picture is completed by three large diamond-shaped masses on the edge of the terrace, depicting the Languedoc, Maltese and Basque crosses
Let's walk a little more through the gardens of Villandry
The Chateau of Villandry remained in the ownership of the Le Breton family for more than two centuries, until 1754, when it came into the possession of the royal ambassador, the Marquis de Castellane, who decided to “keep up with the times” and furnished the interiors in the latest fashion of the 18th century. As a result, the beautiful colonnades on the ground floor were replaced by featureless walls of kitchens and corridors, and the graceful Renaissance windows were “diversified” with arches and balconies
This is how the castle would have survived to this day if not for the initiative of Dr. Joaquim Carvalho, who decided to return the unique Renaissance appearance of Villandry. Thanks to Carvalho, restoration of the castle began in 1906, during which the windows were returned to their original appearance, the colonnades of the first floor were restored and the luxurious gardens were replanted. Only the interiors and the southern façade that he remodeled now remind us of the whims of the Marquis de Castellane.
Let's walk a little through the castle interiors. By the way, in most rooms you can find chairs and armchairs of the 18th century, upholstered in silk from the famous factory in Tours, which is still producing this fabric
The dining room, remodeled by the Marquis de Castellana in the spirit of the 18th century, lost the old tapestries on the walls, which were replaced by panels from the time of Louis XV, and the marble floor was covered with parquet
The kitchen is the simplest room of the castle, with terracotta floor tiles, a large fireplace and stonework. Here you can see all the elements of an old kitchen: oak table, copper pots and pans and the like
The large limestone staircase was built by the Marquis de Castellana in the courtyard, on the site of the old octagonal staircase. On the iron railings you can see the initials of the Marquis
The bedrooms on the first floor were traditionally intended for the owner and his guests. They were also restored, but only the interiors of the 18th century were restored, because... to this day there is no evidence of what these rooms looked like before Castellano’s alterations
This bright room once belonged to Napoleon's younger brother, Prince Jerome, who owned Villandry Castle for several years during the Empire period. Accordingly, the design and furniture of this room are in the imperial style: mahogany furniture, red silk curtains and draperies, as well as military signs and spears on the walls
And in this bedroom lived Dr. Carvalho's wife, Anne Coleman. Here you can see portraits of three of the couple's six children
At the corners of the Villandry residence there are four living rooms, each of which had a unique dome. The ceiling of the eastern living room was created in Toledo in the 15th century and is a pattern of many layers of wood covered with gilding
During the restoration of Joaquim Carvalho, only one of these ceilings was restored in the palace; the other three today adorn the exhibitions of prestigious international museums
Required whole year to reassemble this ceiling from 3,600 individual pieces. Built in the Mudejar style by Moorish craftsmen for their Spanish patrons, this ceiling combines decorative elements from both Christian and Moorish art: Franciscan cords, shells, flowers and royal coats of arms mixed with fancy patterns, gilding and arabesques
On the second floor there are two small children's bedrooms with small toys, old books, embroidered clothes and a cradle
The castle tower allows you to look at the Villandry garden from a bird's eye view. In addition, it offers a beautiful view of the valley through which the Loire and Cher flow in parallel for almost fifteen kilometers. This landscape is included in the list World Heritage UNESCO