The Chambord castle is located in Loire valley, France.
The Loire Valley, spanning 280 kilometres (170 mi), is located in the middle stretch of the Loire River in central France. Its area comprises approximately 800 square kilometres (310 sq mi).
The architectural heritage in the valley's historic towns is notable, especially its châteaux, such as the Château d'Amboise, Château de Chambord, Château d'Ussé, Château de Villandry and Chenonceau.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loire_Valley
Chambord castle
The royal Château de Chambord is one of the most recognizable châteaux in the world because of its very distinct French Renaissance architecture which blends traditional French medieval forms with classical Renaissance structures.
Chambord is the largest château in the Loire Valley; it was built to serve as a hunting lodge for François I.The original design is attributed, though with several doubts, to Domenico da Cortona. Some authors claim that the French Renaissance architect Philibert Delorme had a considerable role in the château's design, and others have suggested that Leonardo da Vinci may have designed it.
Chambord was altered considerably during the twenty years of its construction, (1519–1547)
Architecture
Châteaux in the 16th-century departed from castle architecture, while they were off-shoots of castles, with features commonly associated with them, they did not have serious defenses.The layout is reminiscent of a typical castle with a keep, corner towers, and defended by a moat.
Built in Renaissance style, the internal layout is an early example of the French and Italian style of grouping rooms into self-contained suites, a departure from the medieval style of corridor rooms.
The massive château is composed of a central keep with four immense bastion towers at the corners. The keep also forms part of the front wall of a larger compound with two more large towers. Bases for a possible further two towers are found at the rear, but these were never developed, and remain the same height as the wall. The château features 440 rooms, 365 fireplaces, and 84 staircases. Four rectangular vaulted hallways on each floor form a cross-shape. The château was never intended to provide any form of defense from enemies; consequently the walls, towers and partial moat are purely decorative, and even at the time were an anachronism. Some elements of the architecture – open windows, loggia, and a vast outdoor area at the top.
The roof scape of Chambord contrasts with the masses of its masonry and has often been compared with the skyline of a town: it shows eleven kinds of towers and three types of chimneys, without symmetry, framed at the corners by the massive towers.
One of the architectural highlights is the spectacular double-helix open staircase that is the centerpiece of the château. The two helixes ascend the three floors without ever meeting, illuminated from above by a sort of light house at the highest point of the château.
The château also features 128 meters of façade, more than 800 sculpted columns and an elaborately decorated roof.
The château is surrounded by a 52.5‑km² (13,000‑acre) wooded park and game reserve maintained with red deer, enclosed by a 31‑kilometer (20‑mile) wall.
ISSUES: There are no statues of fallen heroes and the actual palace was built 100 years later than the project brief suggests! So when Sir Longford the Bold would have arrived at the place in 15 century he would have seen.... hmmm... forest perhaps. :)
