Château de Cheverny – A Dream Castle in the Loire Valley

MyStylery on tour: Me in front of the Château de Cheverny in the Loire Valley nearby the idyllic town of Blois

The painted wooden ceilings by Jean Moniers impress me. It must have taken him a long time to paint this

The dining hall is dominated by heavy oak furniture from the 19th century. Interesting: The walls are covered by leather, which has the family’s coat of arms imprinted. The silver-coated bronze chandelier above the dining table weighs considerable 100 kilos*

The noble staircase of honor built in the style of Louis XIII. with garlands- and fruit-motives, emblems of the fine arts and a 25 (!) kilogram heavy knight’s armor from the 16th century

Beautiful detail

In the great salon a harp from the 18th century, which is still being played today. The portrait above the fireplace shows Marie Johanne de la Carre Saumery, Countess of Cheverny

Mantelpiece in the armory

The arms room presents itself in its original state. It has never been restored. The collection of weapons and armors originates from the 15th, 16th, and 17th century. The gobelin tapestry from the 17th century belongs to the further treasures of the castle

Again magnificent ceiling paintings

The regal chambers for the King – here the bed canopysolely with precious fabrics – should he honor the castle with a visit

Did these amazing ceiling-portraits bestowed sweet dreams to the King?

The tableware ‘An Autumn in Cheverny’ had been designed especially for the Counts’ family. By the way, the idea, to set the forks with the fork arms upside down, has been introduced by Louis XV. He wanted to prevent, getting caught by the fork arms with his ruffled sleeves. Interesting?

Apropos: beds of this time aren’t so short because people were shorter then, but because one slept sitting, the lying position was reserved for the dead. Furthermore one was afraid to swallow ones’ own tongue

The children’s room with toys and wooden horses from the time of Napoleon III.

The bedchamber with the bridal dress of the current Marquise Constance de Vibraye, a born Barbat du Closel, who married Charles-Antoine de Vibraye in this dress in 1994*

The boudoir

In the birth room mothers presented their newborn children. The mahogany-cradle is a rare Empire relic …

… With writing desk …

The library includes 2,000 books*

The castle’s own chapel

Today the Marquis Charles-Antoine de Vibraye and his family live here

In its whole history Château de Cheverny has never been unoccupied

View from the south facade into the park

The English park with impressive and rare tree species, Paul de Vibraye had planted there from 1820 to 1860:

Linden, giant sequoia, and cedars

At the ‘apprentices’ garden’ modern garden architecture is showcased since 2006

The castle is opened daily and has only been closed three times for a few hours: 1963 during the visit of the Queen Mom of England, 1976 for the burial of the Marquis de Vibraye and 1994 on the occasion of the marriage of the current owner Marquis Charles-Antoine de Vibraye

Today the orangery from the 18th century accommodates a beautiful café for visitors of the Château

At the moment the garden presents itself in a autumnal explosion of colors: Magnificent

The southern facade of the Château is decorated with busts of roman emperors, the northern facade is held in the style of Louis XIII. with plastered walls

Artpiece in front of the castle

The stables of Cheverny

The last hydrangeas of the summer

As a farewell the horses say “adieu”