I don’t know if you are feeling the same. But, it looks strange to find this chateau here. We have a real contrast between the whiteness of the stone (the tufa) and the greenness of the forest which is the forest of Chinon. It is a kind of magic apparition. Indeed, the chateau dominates an amazing landscape where the rivers the Indre and the Loire join up. It is a strategic place. Imagine that from this place, we can control the navigation on the both the Loire and the Indre but also all the ways between Chinon and Tours. This chateau is really exceptional because it is a mix of fortress and pleasure residence. Ussé is a perfect example of different architectural transitions.
Indeed, we can find three, or even four periods on this chateau. The presence of all these styles is due to its history. Over the time, Ussé belonged to different owners who made many works.
In 1462, Jean de Bueil decided to build a castle on a former medieval fortress. We can consider that is the beginning of the Chateau of Ussé.
Here we can see that it has a military style but also an incredible decoration. Indeed, in the 15th century, the chateau became a pleasure residence surrounded by a fortress. We have this contrast between fortress and residence with the parapet walk and the lightness and the grace of facades in the main courtyard. We can walk all around the parapet walk and discover another aspect of this chateau. (Exhibition of the “Sleeping Beauty” inside).
At the beginning, I told you that this chateau is like a magic apparition. Maybe Charles Perrault, a famous seventeenth-French writer, had the same feeling. Indeed, maybe you know him, Charles Perrault wrote “the Tales of Mother Groose” where you can find “the Little Red Riding Hood”, “the Puss in Boots” and the “Sleeping Beauty”. Everybody know the story of the “Sleeping Beauty”, everybody saw the Disney’s film. So, the story says that when Charles Perrault came in Ussé to see his friend the marquis Bernin of Valentinay, everybody in the chateau were sleeping like in the “Sleeping Beauty”. When Perrault found out for the first time this chateau, he saw it like a Chateau from a fairy tale. To him, it was the chateau of the “Sleeping Beauty”. That’s why today, everybody say that it is the chateau of the “Sleeping Beauty”.
In the 15th century, the chateau was a square. The main building that you can see today was just a curtain wall which joined the west wing (on your right) to the east wing (on your left). The north wing which was destroyed by the marquis Bernin of Valentinay in 1659 was the main building. This entire square was surrounded by circular towers.
The three facades which surround the main courtyard were several times rebuilt. On your left, the facade is always gothic even if during the 19th century there were some restorations. We can see a small lantern which was the bell tower of the chapel. We recognize the gothic style thanks to dormer windows. The facade on your right represents the Renaissance style. Indeed, we can recognize huge dormers. This wing is really similar to the Francis the 1st wing of the Chateau of Blois (for example with the dormers). These two wings are linked by a main building. This facade keeps some gothic elements with dormers windows and pinnacles. But, it was modified during the 17th century. That’s why, we can see also classical elements on this facade with for example the huge windows. But, the best example of classicism is the wing of Vauban built for the Vauban’s daughter (wife of Louis II Bernin de Valentiney, owner of the chateau). The wing of Vauban is the building which continues the west wing. We can see the separation at the level of the circular tower.
Maybe you notice the presence of terraces. Actually, they are gardens. It is the opera of the marquis of Valentinay. Two famous persons worked on these gardens. Indeed, Vauban (creator of Vauban’s fortifications under Louis the 14th) imagined these gardens and Le Nôtre (creator of the gardens of Versailles) realised them. We can also find an orangery from the 17th century.
Since 1931, the Chateau of Ussé has been a Historic Monument.
