The first five photos are in the lovely town Auxerre where we stopped before going to the Chateau.
24 juin 2015
Young King Francis I was 25 years old in 1519 when he initiated the building of a hunting lodge.
On his return to Paris from conquering Milan, and influenced by Italy's Renaissance architecture, he decided to build the Château of Chambord using loggias, a terrace, pilasters and horizontal mouldings , all very nouveau.
Francis I reigned for 32 years during which he spent only 72 days at Chambord. Today there are many tourists enjoying the château and the huge surrounding park.
In 1939 the whole estate became the property of the Republic of France.
The Château has 77 staircases and
282 fireplaces.
In the center of the keep is the double spiral staircase that links three floors. It comprises two concentric spiral flights of stairs that wind independently around a hollow central column, so if two people each take one flight they can see each other through the openings in the central column but will never meet.
We tried it and it works.
The ingenuousness of this central staircase suggests that Leonardo da Vinci, who had come to France in 1516 at the request of Francis I, may have helped to
design the staircase.
Francis I, now there's a king who knows how to have a good time wearing the latest fashion.
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