By By Alexa and EmilyAlexa and Emily

Located in the Loire Valley in France

Largest castle in the Loire Valley

Well-known because of it’s French Renaissance architecture

Central tower, and four bastion towers at corners

Double helix open staircase

Surrounded by a façade, moat, and wooded forest

Elements of the castle borrowed from Italian Renaissance stlye

Originally built as a hunting lodge for King Francois I

Used the castle for short stays only

No heating system, lacked near-by village, unfurnished

Died in 1547

After Francois’s death—castle abandoned for over 80 years

1639—King Louis XIV restores and furnishes

Adds a 300 horse-stable

Abandons castle in 1685

1725-1733—Louis XV lived with Stanislas I at chateau

1745—gave castle to Maurice de Saxe for his fighting courage

Maurice died in 1750, leaving the castle empty again

1939—artwork from the Louvre and Compiegne museum stored at the chateauMona Lisa and

Venus de MiloBecame property of

French government in 193011 Million Francs

Restored after WWII ended

June 22, 1944—American Flying Fortress bomber plane crashed on to the castle lawn

An picture of the castle is used in the Microsoft Windows computer operating system—entitled “chateau”

The castle contains 440 rooms, 365 fireplaces and 84 staircases, 800 sculpted columns, elaborately decorated roof

Leonardo da Vinci visited the castle during it’s construction, and influenced some of it’s architecture

Located in a park which is surrounded by a wall of 22 miles in circumference.

1,800 men worked on the building of the chateau

The only furnished rooms are the chambers of Francois I, Louis XIV, and a large toy room

Main attraction—double spiral staircase

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