Château de Cour-sur-Loire
CastleHidden Treasure
Château de Cour-sur-Loire, located in Cour-sur-Loire (Loir-et-Cher), 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
- Cour-sur-Loire, Loir-et-Cher, Centre-Val de Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.6502, 1.4263
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00098425
On the outskirts of Chambord, this Loire manor house, built under Louis XII, boasts Gothic turrets and romantic gardens set in lush greenery between the Loire and Sologne.
© Wikimedia Commons
History
Château de Cour-sur-Loire is one of those discreet manor houses in the Loire Valley that combines five centuries of French architectural history in a single building. Nestling in a landscaped garden created in 1829, it escapes the notoriety of its Touraine neighbours, revealing its charm to those who know how to look. Its composite silhouette, the legacy of successive additions from the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries, tells a straightforward story of the changing tastes and ambitions of its owners. What makes this manor house so special is precisely this stratification, which can be seen in the naked eye. The original polygonal tower, with its stone screw and bracketed door with finials, converses with the later pavilions like a multi-voiced architectural conversation. There is no single, unified approach here, but rather the sincerity of a building that has been built over generations, according to needs and fashions. The landscaped garden is a major attraction of the visit. Laid out in the English style in the first half of the 19th century, it envelops the buildings in generous vegetation where remarkable species stand side by side with artfully designed perspectives. The troubadour-style chapel, consecrated in 1842, adds a touch of medieval picturesqueness so dear to the romanticism of the period. The monument has been listed twice as a Monument Historique, reflecting official recognition of its architectural and landscape heritage value. For lovers of Loire heritage off the beaten track, Cour-sur-Loire offers an intimate and authentic experience, far from the crowds that beset Blois or Cheverny. The geographical setting is even more appealing: situated in the Loir-et-Cher region, just a few leagues from Chambord and the Sologne forest, the château is part of this exceptional UNESCO World Heritage site, where every bend in the road can reveal unsuspected architecture.
Architecture
The architecture of the Château de Cour-sur-Loire is that of a Loire manor house in constant evolution, where façade by façade reveals the successive layers of construction. The central building, dating from the end of the 15th century, is the most remarkable in terms of style: its polygonal tower on the north-west façade houses a stone spiral staircase, accessed via a doorway whose bracketed lintel with finials and slender pinnacles is an eloquent example of the late flamboyant Gothic style typical of the Loire Valley in the era of Louis XII. This ornamental vocabulary, common to royal building sites and the homes of the crown's great officers in the region, gives the manor house a stylistic kinship with buildings such as the Château de Blois and the manor houses of the Blois region. The Renaissance extensions, although continuous in elevation with the central building, introduced a round turret at the north-east corner and a square tower at the south-west corner, creating an L-shaped layout typical of the noble homes of the Loire Valley. The 19th-century additions, built between 1840 and 1850, extend the ensemble to the south-west with neo-medieval turrets that create a romantic transition between the old volumes and the new construction. The troubadour-style chapel, consecrated in 1842, adopts the neo-Gothic forms that were in vogue at the time: lancets, archaic mouldings and a steeply pitched roof complete an architectural ensemble that, despite its chronological diversity, is remarkably coherent in terms of its layout and scale. The dominant materials are white Loire tufa and slate for the roofs, the traditional palette of the Loire Valley.
Related Figures
Jacques Hurault — trésorier de France sous Louis XII, acquéreur de la terre en 1492 et bâtisseur du corps central du manoirLouis XII — roi de France sous le règne duquel le manoir fut érigé, incarnant l'apogée du gothique flamboyant ligérienLa famille Hurault — influente dynasty de financiers et conseillers royaux tourangeaux, dont plusieurs membres marquèrent le Loir-et-Cher
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Château de Cour-sur-Loire located?
Château de Cour-sur-Loire is located in Cour-sur-Loire, Loir-et-Cher department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
When was Château de Cour-sur-Loire built?
Château de Cour-sur-Loire dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Château de Cour-sur-Loire open to visitors?
Château de Cour-sur-Loire is currently closed to visitors.