The Château de Chenonceau spans the river Cher.

1. Catherine Briçonnet (early 16th century) was the wife of the first owner, who built the turreted pavillion and one of the very first staircases in France.
2. Diane de Poitiers (mid 16th century) was the mistress of Henry II, and added the formal gardens and the arched bridge over the River.
3. Catherine de Medici (mid 16th century) was the wife of Henry II. She evicted Diane when her husband died and changed the bridge into an Italian-style gallery.
4. Louise de Lorraine (late 16th cetury) was the wife of Henri III, who made her black room of mourning.
5. Madame Dupin (18th century) was a cultured lady who saved Chenonceaux from destruction during the Revolution.
6. Madame Pelouze (19th century) completely restored the château in 1863
and
War time How the Château played an important role.

Because her husband was a King's officer in far-away Normandy, Catherine had to over see and organise all the building works. She organised the construction of the internal staircase, one of the first in France. OVer time, the château became a fine building, the envy of many of her neighbours, including the King, François 1er.

The building works must have cost of lot of money which seems to explain the motto that Catherine had carved on the doors:

"S'il vient à point, me souviendra", which means, "If the castle is finished, people will remember me."

The door panels still survive today - see the picture below.

2. Diane de Poitiers.

King François 1er often went to Chenonceau accompanied by his family and friends: his Queen, his son Henri and his wife Catherine de Medici, his mistress and his son's mistress who was Diane de Poitiers.

Diane had at one time been François' mistress too, and was a good 20 years older than Henri!

François set about refurbishing the château to make it his own. HIs symbol was the salamander and just as in Chambord, François ensured that this symbol could be found everywhere.

This is the main door to the château - decorated with the salamander.

The Latin inscription either side of the salamander refers to King François 1er, the king of France and his first wife, Queen Claude, the Queen of Brittany.

When François died in 1547 his son, Henri, became King Henri II. Diane de Poitiers had a lot of influence over him and it was not long before he gave her not only Chenonceau but also the crown jewels and a good income. Henri's wife, Queen Catherine, felt humiliated.

Diane was said to be very beautiful and kept her beauty into old age (this painting of her with the stags is a portrait of her when she was well over 60 years of age!). She claimed her beauty came from bathing in cold water every morning, then going riding and then returning to bed until mid-day.

This manipulated photo shows what Diane's bridge
might have looked like.

Diane embarked on an expensive beautification program for the château. She planned the lay out of the garden with flowers, fruits and vegetables which at that time were considered exotic - such as melons and artichokes.

Diane also built a bridge which linked the château to the opposite bank of the River Cher.

Unfortunately for Diane, King Henri II died unexpectedly in a tournament in 1559. His Queen, Catherine de Medici, planned to get her own back

3. Catherine de Medici.

Catherine never forgave the King. She determined that she would hold the power in France, never again would she be humiliated. She dominated her sons, and although they were Kings, it was she who really ruled.

Catherine immediately sought her revenge on Diane. She demanded that Diane returned the crown jewels and the château. Diane tried to resist but she was forced to return them. She was sent away, banished to die a lonely old lady in the Château of Anet.

This picture of Catherine is in the Queen's bedroom. It hangs above the fire place and is an integral part of the mantelpiece.

If you look closely, you can see the initials of Henri and Catherine in gold decorating the mantelpiece, with cherubs supporting a globe with the embems of France, the Fleurs de Lys.

Queen Catherine had been further humiliated by Diane's work in the château. She was furious at the way in which her initials had been inter-twined with those of her husband.

Not only did they read H and C for Henri and Catherine, but the back to back design of the C meant that they also read H and D for Henri and Diane.

Catherine started on a total make-over of the château, to reclaim it as her own.

She worked on a new layout for the gardens, to change Diane's work. More importantly, she constructed the huge, three story wing which was built across the bridge that Diane had designed.

View from the ballroom window over the River Cher.

Catherine also used the château for the entertainment and marriages of her children.

The Queen died in 1589, bequeathing the château in her will to the wife of her son, King Henri III, Queen Louise.

Queen Louise liked the château and set up her court there.

4. Queen Louise.

Unfortunately, Louise's happiness and pleasure in her inheritance was shortlived.

A few months later, her husband, Henri III, was assassinated. As he lay dying, he dictated a letter addressed to his wife telling her: "My beloved, I hope to be well. Pray to God for me. Do not move from there."

People think this is why Queen Louise never moved from the château again. She mourned her husband deeply and remained locked away in her room in the château until she died.

She did away with all the bright furnishings and replaced them all with black. She had the bedroom walls painted black, with black curtains; the room was decorated with symbols of death and mourning. This is her bed, with its black drapery.

Quuen Louise lived a life of prayer and invited nuns to live and pray with her in the château.

This is a "priedieu" (pray to God) or special kneeler that Queen Louise knelt at in her bed room to pray.

Queen Louise dressed all in white, the traditional colour of royal mourning. For this reason, she was known as "The White Queen."

Here is one of the designs from her bedroom, with which the walls and hangings were decorated. The white feathers are symbols of death and mourning, they are surrounded by tears. The château, which once had echoed with music and fun, became a sad and lonely place.

When Queen Louise died, the château was inherited by the Ducs de Vendôme. The Kings of France rarely visited it, and it became very run down. For a while it even became a monastery for Capucine monks who built a drawbridge to isolate themselves from the rest of the world.

5. Madame Dupin

In 1733, the château was sold to a wealthy financier, Claude Dupin. His wife was a well educated woman, who mixed with the greatest writers, thinkers and artists of the time. She invited them to the château.

Once again, the château came to life and became the scene for meetings, festivals, operas, scientific discussions, opera and music. Madame Dupin tried to restore the château and its gardens to their former glory.

Jean Jacques Rousseau, the famous philosopher, became her secretary. He wrote: "We passed the time well there, and we ate well...I became very fat!"

Madame Dupin was so liked and respected by the local people that Chenonceau survived the Revolution unharmed. This was very unusual. She died in the château in 1799 aged 93.

6. Madame Pelouze.

Once again, fortune failed to smile on the château, and it was abandoned and fell into ruin.

It was sold to Madame Pelouze in 1864. She immediately started the work to restore the château to its original state. It is due to her, that the château is in such a good condition today.

She restored the kichen which is located below the ballroom.

She also worked on the restoration of the gardens to the layout designed by Queen Catherine de Medici.

The drive leading to the château was planted out with trees.

During World War II, the boundary between Nazi occupied Vichy France and Free France was marked by the river Cher. The Château of Chenonceau was in Free France, and its forest land across the river was in Nazi held France.

The bridge wing across the river was used by the Resistance to cross from Free France to Nazi occupied France. The Nazis deforested their side of the river to enable them to more accurately track and capture those who succeeded in crossing.

After World War II, the trees were replanted, so that today, the far bank is once more wooded, though of course the trees are no more than 60 years old.

If you look at the photo carefully, you can see that the river is often much higher. It has left its "tide marks" on the arches of the bridge.

Sources:
http://www.lapinville.net/chenon.htm
D'Huart, Simone et alia: Chateaux de la Loire, Bonechi, 1991.
Photographs: © Patricia Barry 2005.