Château de Champchevrier
CastleHidden Treasure
Château de Champchevrier, located in Cléré-les-Pins (Indre-et-Loire), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- Castle
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Cléré-les-Pins, Indre-et-Loire, Centre-Val de Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.4442, 0.3903
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00097708
Emerging from its 17th-century moat, Champchevrier displays its Renaissance elegance and well-preserved interiors - Gobelins tapestries on cartoons by Simon Vouet, wood panelling from Richelieu's château - in a setting of unspoilt Touraine.
© Wikimedia Commons
History
Nestling in the hedged farmlands of Cléré-les-Pins, on the borders of Touraine and Anjou, the Château de Champchevrier is one of those places where time seems to have stood still. Its perfectly preserved moat, its facades punctuated by restored dormer windows and its large terrace with balustrades create a picture of rare coherence, far from the hustle and bustle of the Loire's busiest tourist circuits. What sets Champchevrier apart from its illustrious neighbours is the absolute authenticity of its interiors. For several centuries, the château has never been emptied or redecorated according to fashion: furniture from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Cordovan and Venetian leathers stretched across the walls, coffered ceilings painted with bouquets and views of the estate form a uniquely coherent museum. There are no reconstructions here, no staging - just the genuine patina of an inhabited residence. The tapestries are without doubt the château's most precious treasure. A series of mythological scenes woven in the Gobelins from cartoons by Simon Vouet, Louis XIII's favourite painter, adorn the main rooms and give the rooms an almost palatial feel. The fresh colours of these hangings make Champchevrier a must-see for lovers of the decorative arts. Visitors will also be struck by the singular atmosphere of the western pavilion, with its compartmented painted panelling depicting bouquets of flowers, small figures and landscapes of the estate - an intimate, narrative decoration more reminiscent of an aristocratic cabinet of curiosities than a reception room. The corner chapel, which predates the major alterations, adds a note of contemplation to the ensemble. The parklands and gardens are a harmonious extension of the architecture: the moat frames the main building with a mirror of calm water, while the large terrace offers a remarkable view of the façades. The hayloft of the outbuildings, a vestige of an ancient rural organisation, is a reminder that Champchevrier was always as much a living estate as a palace.
Architecture
Champchevrier consists of a rectangular main building in the late Renaissance style, flanked to the west by two low terraced wings added in the 18th century. The main facade, facing the main courtyard, is punctuated by pedimented dormer windows - restored in the early 20th century - and crowned with a moulded cornice. The tufa stone, an emblematic material of the Loire Valley, works in harmony with the slate roofs to create a soft, luminous palette typical of Loire architecture. The most characteristic feature of the Renaissance campaign is the high hexagonal tower, a vestige of the first reconstruction in the 16th century, which houses the monumental staircase. This hexagonal shape, rare in the body of Touraine castles, bears witness to ambitious formal research and a high level of technical mastery. The wide, well-preserved 17th-century moat frames the estate with a continuous mirror of water, accentuating the majestic effect of the whole. At the north-east corner of the balustraded terrace, the seigniorial chapel, which predates the major alterations, has a more modest structure and intimate proportions. The interiors are the real architectural revelation of the château. The west pavilion, on the second floor, features an entirely panelled room with painted compartments - bouquets of flowers, small figures in costume, topographical views of the estate - in harmony with a ceiling decorated in the same spirit. The walls of several rooms are upholstered in Cordovan and Venetian leather, a technique used in Spanish and Italian pageantry and adopted by the great French houses in the 17th and 18th centuries. The wood panelling from the Château de Richelieu, reused in the north-west staircase, is indirect evidence of the cardinal architecture that has now disappeared.
Related Figures
Antoine Gaston Jean Baptiste de Roquelaure — maréchal de France dont le régiment creusa les douves au XVIIe siècleSimon Vouet — peintre officiel de Louis XIII, auteur des cartons des tapisseries des Gobelins ornant les sallesArmand Jean du Plessis, cardinal de Richelieu — dont le château voisin fournit les boiseries réemployées à ChampchevrierSeigneurs de Sablé — suzerains médiévaux du fief de Champchevrier dès 1109Propriétaires anonymes du XVIe siècle — commanditaires de la reconstruction Renaissance et de la tour hexagonaleRestaurateurs du début du XXe siècle — artisans de la restitution des lucarnes et de la corniche Renaissance
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Château de Champchevrier located?
Château de Champchevrier is located in Cléré-les-Pins, Indre-et-Loire department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
When was Château de Champchevrier built?
Château de Champchevrier dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Château de Champchevrier open to visitors?
Château de Champchevrier is currently closed to visitors.