Châteaux, Loire River #1of2

As we looked at our map of France we saw that the cities of Nantes, Angers, Tours, Blois, and Orléans are located along 200 miles of the Loire River Valley. The Seventeen Great (and uncounted smaller) Châteaux of the Loire River country are located on both sides of the river.

Our dictionary says that the French word Châteaux means the same as “castle” in English, but the turrets, walls, and drawbridges on these Châteaux (except for Angers) do not look like, for example, those on castles in England and Germany. Most of these Châteaux are more like huge beautiful mansions.

This area is about two hundred miles south and west of Paris, well away from the hustle and bustle and the problems of the big city. The Loire River is shallow in the summer, sometimes bursting its dikes in late winter, and at many places it is quite wide with scattered small islands and sandbars.

A great number of the Châteaux were built in forest and hunting reserves over a period of several hundred years, so after one king built his “home,” that just invited the next king, or nobleman, to build in the same area.

One of Angers most impressive structures is the Châteaux de Foulques, with seventeen large round towers, 130 to 165 feet tall, layered in dark and light stone. The Apocalypse Tapestry is displayed in a huge three-story room in the Châteaux.

Originally ninety scenes on six tapestries that were 78 by 20 feet each, the Apocalypse Tapestry was at one time discarded as a piece of no value. The seventy pictures that remain as a 335 by 16 feet display, closely follow the text of the Book of Revelation in the New Testament.

The Châteaux de Saumur was just across the river from our RV in the Municipal Campsite at Saumur. The little village of Loches is one not to miss. We did not go inside the Châteaux, but La Cité médiévale (the old town), is special.

With its foundation extending vertically down the face of the cliff, the Châteaux de Châteaudun appears to tower over the countryside from its perch above the Loire. Viewed from across the river it looks quite austere, but when we arrived on top of the hill, the Châteaux resembled a stately mansion that has been restored with care.