Villandry Castle is a unique luxury and the only three-level garden in the world. Villandry Castle and its gardens Upper level of the gardens - "Water Mirror"
In this part, which I announced a few days ago, I will show you another castle in the Loire Valley. Considering my dislike for tourist attractions worn out by millions of feet, it would be strange to expect us to go there. This is one of the most famous French castles; tons of paper guidebooks and terabytes on the Internet are filled with stories about it and its photographs.
But I still included it in the route. There were several good reasons for this. And Villandry not only did not disappoint us, but also became the highlight of our vacation and route.
So what were the compelling reasons that prompted me to add Villandry to the route? What's so unique about it?
Firstly, the gardens. I love any gardens and plants. I love tomatoes - smelling them and eating them; flowers - smell, admire and photograph; regular gardens - look around, rustle pebbles under your feet on the paths and admire the grace of forms and the skill of the masters of topiary art; English parks - well, you already understand..
I am especially interested in parks and gardens, which are not just filled with plants, but created with some meaning, an idea. The Villandry gardens are just such an amazing work of art. This is a painting, a theatrical stage, and a living embodiment of legends in which plants play the main roles.
(photo from here)
Secondly, the history of the castle. But not the part in which the crowned persons and the intrigues of the courtiers (which, by the way, never existed here), but the period of restoration, reconstruction - in fact, the story of one family who devoted their entire life to the revival and reconstruction of this castle and its gardens . And they did this with incredible scrupulousness and love, with careful and deep insight into the essence, idea and design.
Well, and finally , this castle was radically different from the intimate and delicate, like a lady’s box, Azay-le-Rideau, which we had already visited (in case someone hasn’t read it).
Generally speaking, the “Loire castles” are a separate tourist attraction, offered at any travel agency. I didn’t want to join the general tourist carousel flow, so for the vacation program I selected several castles that would be as different from each other as possible. In the end, although they were turned into candy licked to a glossy level, into emasculated decorations, they still have true story real people, a series of times, feelings, emotions and events.
So what makes Villandry unique? Well, first of all, he's not royal residence, and not even a gift to some courtesan or favorite. The first owner was Jean Le Breton, Minister of Finance under Francis I.
Once upon a time there was a feudal fortress, in the donjon of which on July 4, 1189, a peace treaty was signed between the King of England Henry II Plantagenet, who admitted his defeat, and the King of France, Philip Augustus. Exactly two days after this, Henry II died.
And it was on the ruins of this fortress that Jean Le Breton began construction in 1532. He was fond of architecture, had excellent taste, and as a result, Villandry turned out to be harmonious, elegant, perfectly integrated into the landscape and quite laconic, devoid of turrets, conical roofs and other “fluffs” that were so fashionable at that time.
By the way, part of the donjon where the famous document was signed remains. This architectural element, like the battlements on the top of the wall, recalls the historical purpose of the predecessor fortress of Villandry.
Jean Le Breton was ambassador to Rome, where he became interested in architecture and studied with interest the art of arranging gardens. And he later applied all this with taste and great success in Villandry. However, subsequent owners over the course of many decades did not care much about the safety of this beauty. And by the beginning of the 20th century, when Joachim Carvallo came to inspect it, the castle, due to the changes made and added windows, looked more like a barracks, and not a trace remained of the garden.
Joachim Carvallo at that time was a promising scientist and physician who, being the laureate's favorite student Nobel Prize to Karl Richet, under his leadership he carried out research in the field of physiology of digestion. But he gave up a promising career, bought Villandry and, together with his wife Anne Coleman, an American from a wealthy family of industrialists, set about recreating the original appearance of the castle.
(photo from here)
He delved into historical documents, looked for eyewitness accounts, conducted entire studies, supervised the work of masons and gardeners, and in the end he succeeded incredibly! Now, several interactive structures have been installed in the garden, allowing all visitors, with the help of chronicle footage, to get an idea of the amount of work that Mr. Carvallo had to do.
In 1924, he founded the “Historical House” society, which united all owners of such real estate. And it was he who initiated the idea of opening these castles to the public. He opened Villandry to visitors in 1920. Now his great-grandson Henri Carvallo continues his work.
We started our inspection with the interiors. There's a lot to see there. Authentic household items, furniture, beautiful parquet flooring, a magnificent collection of paintings. And, of course, beautiful views from the windows overlooking the garden.
And my favorite topic is the kitchen! Copper, shiny sides of basins and frying pans, paths trampled over centuries on a stone floor, a stove, a light aroma of smoked prunes and dumpy chairs - all my favorites, yes.
Children's room with a cradle.
Bedroom with windows overlooking the garden.
Children's bedroom with a row of books on a shelf, with toys and a cozy bed.
And a games room with a huge dollhouse in the form of Villandry himself and the glove puppet theater.
Another treasure is the ceiling in the East Living Room. It was brought here by Carvallo in 1905. This ceiling was part of the Maqueda Count's Palace, built in the 15th century in Toledo. The palace was dismantled, and three of its four Moorish wooden, inlaid ceilings are now in Madrid in the National Archaeological Museum, and the fourth, thanks to Mr. Carvallo, can be seen by all visitors to Villandry. This is simply a masterpiece! Incredibly delicate, complex work that gives rise to a fantastic play of volumes, color and light. Very beautiful!
And there are flowers everywhere! In each room there are several vases filled with fresh, fragrant, fragrant bouquets cut right here in the garden.
Villandry Gardens are unique. I didn’t make a reservation - it was the gardens. Because this is not one garden, but a whole complex of different gardens. An apothecary garden with herbs and potions, an Ornamental garden, a garden of Love, a garden of Music, a garden of Water, a garden of the Sun, created recently. They are all full of symbolism, each has its own philosophy and legend. You can and should walk along them for hours, enjoying and finding something amazing and beautiful at every step.
The Garden of Love, consisting of “pictograms” in which Passionate Love, Windy Love, Tragic Love are encrypted.
The Vegetable Garden was created in the image and likeness of the monastery “vegetable” gardens. Here all the ornaments are made up of vegetables, herbs, and herbs selected by color. Twice a year the garden is planted with vegetables. Each year the exhibition changes in accordance with considerations of harmony, preservation of soil fertility and chemical-free farming. Forty types of vegetables and herbs are planted here each season, watered by an automatic system located below the surface of the earth.
From different points in the garden and from different rooms of the castle there are different views of the garden, each of which is incredibly beautiful.
There is also a small shop where you can buy seeds and seedlings of everything that is grown in the gardens of Villandry.
I couldn’t resist and brought a wonderful souvenir from there - sets of seeds. This year, due to some unpleasant events, it was not possible to sow them, but they have a long shelf life - next year I will still have time to try them. If the result is not embarrassing to show, I will definitely show it to you, don’t hesitate!
In the meantime, they lie and remind us that dreams and hard work can produce a bountiful harvest of joy and beauty that people can enjoy for many, many generations to come.
Often in castles with parks it is possible to buy a ticket either for the castle only or for the castle + park. In Villandry, the opposite is true - either a castle + garden (10 euros), or only a garden (6.50 euros). Indeed, people come to Villandry precisely for the gardens...
In 1189, in Villandry, which at that time was the fortified fortress of Colombier, a meeting took place between the King of France, Philip Augustus, and the King of England. Henry II Plantagenet. The conversation ended with the signing of the “Colombier Peace Treaty” in favor of Philip-Augustus.
Villandry Castle ( Chateau de Villandry)
Several centuries later, the castle became the property of the Secretary of State of Francis I, Jean le Breton. A descendant of immigrants from Scotland wanted to build a beautiful castle for himself, different from other medieval fortresses. The most ancient buildings were demolished, and in 1536 the construction of a new building in the shape of the letter P began.
Villandry Castle ( Chateau de Villandry)
The two wings of the castle are an example of Renaissance architecture; in their construction, elements characteristic of 16th-century castles were used: large windows decorated with pilasters and capitals, friezes, dormers with volutes and tympanums.
Villandry Castle ( Chateau de Villandry)
The interior of the castle dates back to the 18th century.
Villandry Castle ( Chateau de Villandry)
There is no special luxury here, but everything is done with taste.
Villandry Castle ( Chateau de Villandry)
The dining room is available for inspection...
Villandry Castle ( Chateau de Villandry)
Bedroom...
Villandry Castle ( Chateau de Villandry)
There is even an art gallery.
Villandry Castle ( Chateau de Villandry)
The ceiling of the room with paintings is made in the Moorish style.
Ceiling
There are also sculptures with hard scenes.
Sculpture
On two of the four sides the castle is surrounded by a moat with water.
Villandry Castle ( Chateau de Villandry)
There are teeming fish here. There are also gold ones.
Fish
The canal runs through the entire garden, which has a clear structure.
On the lower level there is a decorative vegetable garden. This part of the ensemble is made in the form of 9 multi-colored flower beds. In the 16th century botanical gardens were created in which specimens of plants unknown in Europe until that time were planted. The Villandry gardens were restored at the beginning of the 20th century. thanks to Dr. Joaquim Carvalho. In square flower beds you can see cabbage, carrots, beets, lettuce, as well as apple and pear trees.
Gardens of Villandry
The decorative boxwood garden of the middle terrace represents the "Gardens of Love".
Gardens of Villandry
4 large squares depict allegories of love - Passionate love, Infidelity, Tender feelings and Tragic love.
Gardens of Villandry
In the upper left square of the terrace there are three large diamonds, within which the Languedoc, Maltese and Basque crosses can be seen.
Gardens of Villandry
The upper level is a water mirror.
Water Garden (Jardin d'eau)
There is an alley around the pond. There is no path here - so it’s even somehow awkward that you have to pull out the grass.
Water Garden (Jardin d'eau)
Swans swim peacefully in the pond.
Water Garden (Jardin d'eau)
The park is so big that it seems completely deserted.
Water Garden (Jardin d'eau)
Here I happily lay on the grass. During our French trip we visited several park ensembles. So it was the Villandry gardens that I liked the most!
Water Garden (Jardin d'eau)
To the side of the park with a pond is the Garden of the Sun.
This garden is filled with a variety of flowers.
Garden of the Sun (Jardin du soleil)
And under it there was a small boxwood labyrinth.
Labyrinth
This completed our “castle” trip, and we returned to Saint-Nazaire...
Villandry Castle (Château de Villandry) was built under King Francis I, by Prime Minister Jean Le Breton. It was erected on the former foundation of an ancient feudal fortress of the 11th century. Only the donjon tower in the southwestern part has survived from it. The Breton family came from Scotland. The Prime Minister decided to build a new type of castle, unlike the gloomy medieval fortresses. The castle was completed in 1536. This […]
Was built under the king Francis I, Prime Minister Jean Le Breton. It was erected on the former foundation of an ancient feudal fortress of the 11th century. Only the donjon tower in the southwestern part has survived from it.
The Breton family came from Scotland. The Prime Minister decided to build a new type of castle, unlike the gloomy medieval fortresses. The castle was completed in 1536. It was a U-shaped structure, with a courtyard facing the shore Loire. Its two wings were created in the image of Renaissance palaces of the 16th century. Their facades with large windows were decorated with friezes, stucco ornaments, pilasters and capitals. The wings of the building, slightly unequal in length, were built at different angles and were asymmetrical. There were galleries on both sides of the courtyard.
The next owner of the castle was Marquis de Castellane. During his tenure, balconies and additional decorations on the facade were added to the appearance of the building. Extensions were built on both sides of the front yard; The new owner ordered to separate part of the territory with a wall and place a kitchen and utility rooms there.
The castle began to gradually deteriorate and collapse. Although its appearance with attics, steep roofs and cross-shaped frames was still harmonious, some architectural elements were not preserved. The lower level gallery was closed, and the round towers with conical roofs were destroyed.
In this form, Villandry existed until 1906 - until he acquired it Dr. Joachim Carvallo. He decided to save the castle from destruction and completely recreate it. ancient architecture and plant gardens. (Earlier, back in the 16th century, a garden was already created here according to the design of Androis du Cersault).
Joachim Carvalho and his wife collected a collection of paintings by Spanish painters of the 17th century. To this day, Villandry Castle keeps about fifty of these paintings.
A remarkable element of the decoration was the Arabic ceiling in the Mudejar style, made by Moorish craftsmen from the estate of the Princes de Maqueda. This ceiling, dismantled into 3,600 pieces, was brought to Villandry from Toledo. It took a year to put together this ingenious “mosaic”. An interesting fireplace with a gilded chimney in the shape of a palm tree in the dining room on the ground floor. Dr. Carvalho carefully treated the decoration of the castle, restoring the heraldic symbols of the previous owners, floral patterns and stucco shell decorations.
- This is a separate attraction of Villandry. The total length of hedges is about 52 km. Every year, 250 thousand different seedlings are planted here. Plants are selected in such a way that their flowering periods change in stages.
The Villandry gardens are located on several levels. The upper level opens Garden of the Sun. It consists of three decorative zones: the “cloud room” - with plants blooming white and blue flowers; “sunny room” in orange and yellow tones; “children's room” - a playground under apple trees.
Also on the top level is Garden of Water (Jardin d'eau). It is located around a large pond in the shape of an oval mirror. They grow in a pond rare species aquatic flora. The fountains next to it resemble royal lilies.
In the second level Regular garden There are three sites: the Garden of Medicinal Herbs, the Garden of Music and the famous Garden of Love.
According to the creator's plan, the site Garden of Love (Jardin d'amour) represent four types of feelings: tender, fickle, passionate and tragic. The belonging of garden areas to these allegorical images is emphasized by the shapes of hedges and the different shades of flowering plants. In the lines of gracefully trimmed bushes one can discern hearts and fans, tongues of flame and domino ballroom masks, sword blades and intricate labyrinths. All these intricate figures are clearly visible from the castle tower. You must definitely climb it to see the Garden of Love in all its blooming splendor.
The lowest level is vegetable garden (Potager). It is divided into square beds with vegetables. Even the coloring of these beds follows a certain color algorithm. They form a “chessboard”, the cells of which are separated by alleys of fruit trees. The colorful landscape is decorated with fountains and numerous rose bushes. Although the vegetable garden is considered decorative, planting in it is carried out according to all agrotechnical rules.
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In the French Loire Valley, famous for its castles, there are dozens of palaces, but one among them especially stands out, as evidenced by the never-ending flow of tourists all year round. This is the magnificent castle of Villandry, located 15 kilometers from the city of Tours. An elegant snow-white palace appeared here in the 15th century and has been decorating this territory of France ever since. Over its centuries-old history, Villandry Castle passed from one owner to another and, as a result, has experienced more than one renovation and reincarnation. Nevertheless, the palace managed to preserve the general architectural style - the Renaissance. The castle is still under the care of its owners - the hereditary dynasty of Carvalho.
No matter how luxurious the apartments of Villandry Castle are, its main pride is its picturesque and unique gardens, which have an unusual three-level landscape.
The last owners put a lot of effort into restoring the facade and interior of the castle, but truly titanic work was done to restore the gardens for which Villandry Castle was once famous throughout the world. By the way, the park complex recreated here remains the only one of its kind to this day. But more on that later.
Tourists will be no less interested in visiting the halls and rooms of Villandry Castle, where the atmosphere of medieval times has been carefully preserved and recreated. Furniture, decoration, interior items - everything is as it was many centuries ago - luxury and wealth reigns everywhere. Even the paintings and style of images that decorate the walls and ceilings of the palace are unique and not found in other castles of the French Loire.
Villandry Castle
But no matter how luxurious the apartments of Villandry Castle are, its main pride is its picturesque and unique gardens, which have an unusual three-level landscape. Imagine for a moment how numerous figures of greenery and flowers stretch over hundreds of meters and form unique patterns and pictures. Tourists can observe all this beauty not only at arm’s length, but also from a bird’s eye view by climbing the tower of Villandry Castle.
The palace gardens are beautiful not only in summer, but also at any other time of the year and are always open to tourists. Opening hours: 9:00 - 17:00 (January - February), 9:00 - 18:00 (March), 9:00 - 19:00 (March - June, September), 9:00 - 19:30 ( July - August), 9:00 - 18:30 (October), 9:00 - 17:00 (November - December). Villandry Castle itself operates on almost the same schedule, with the exception of a few periods.
Admission: 11 EUR for adults (tour of the castle and visit to the garden), 7 EUR for children (from 8 to 18 years old) and students (up to 26 years old). Free for children under eight years old.
An audio guide in Russian will cost an additional 4 EUR per person.
You can get to Villandry Castle by train from Paris (travel time is about an hour). It will take you to the city of Tours, and there you can take a taxi that will take you straight to the palace. There is also a bus from Tours to Villandry Castle, but it only carries passengers in the summer - in July and August.
Prices on the page are as of November 2018.
Villandry Castle differs from other Loire castles with its amazing three-level gardens, which have no analogues anywhere else in the world!
The Villandry fortress stood on this site for a long time; it was here on July 4, 1189 that the historic meeting of the King of France Philip Augustus with the English monarch Henry II Plantagenet took place, as a result of which the peace agreement of Azay-le-Rideau was signed
In the 16th century, Jean le Breton, the personal secretary of Francis I, settled here, overseeing the construction of the Chambord and Fontainebleau residences.
Feeling all his importance, Le Breton decided to make himself more comfortable, for which he demolished all the ancient buildings except the central donjon and erected a luxurious Renaissance castle in the shape of a horseshoe in their place.
The construction of Villandry Castle was completed in 1536, making it the last Renaissance castle belonging to the Loire Valley
The courtyard of the new castle, surrounded on both sides by a gallery of arcades, faces the Loire, and both of its wings are still considered an example of Renaissance architecture
Villandry also owes his gardens to the royal secretary, who spent quite a long time in Italy as an ambassador, where he studied the intricacies of the art of landscaping from paintings by Italian Renaissance artists
As a result, having taken on the task of creating unique gardens that have no analogues anywhere else in France, Le Breton created a truly amazing composition consisting of three levels...
On the upper terrace, which is a water mirror, the royal secretary laid out an orchard with cozy paths running between the trees.
On the middle terrace, located approximately at the level of the first floor of the castle, he arranged the so-called “Gardens of Love”, which will be discussed below.
On the lower terrace, the Scotsman has arranged a decorative vegetable garden, in the colorful flower beds of which vegetables such as pumpkin, cabbage, carrots and beets, and fruit trees, among which apple and pear trees predominate, are crowded together.
From here there is a beautiful view of the village with the high bell tower of the Romanesque church, and the landscape is completed by low fountains in the shape of eight-pointed stars, originally used for watering plants and trees.
One of the terraces opens onto the Audience Pavilion - a kind of gazebo where you can hide from the heat
The gardens are surrounded by a canal that serves both for irrigation and framing.
Villandry's "Gardens of Love" are 4 regular squares: the northwestern one is planted in the shape of hearts struck by arrows and personifies passionate love; in the northeastern square, plants of yellow shades are planted, which is supposed to depict infidelity; the southwestern sector consists of hearts separated by tongues of flame, symbolizing tender feelings; the southeastern square is planted with sword points and blood-red flowers, personifying tragic love. The picture is completed by three large diamond-shaped masses on the edge of the terrace, depicting the Languedoc, Maltese and Basque crosses
Let's walk a little more through the gardens of Villandry
The Chateau of Villandry remained in the ownership of the Le Breton family for more than two centuries, until 1754, when it came into the possession of the royal ambassador, the Marquis de Castellane, who decided to “keep up with the times” and furnished the interiors in the latest fashion of the 18th century. As a result, the beautiful colonnades on the ground floor were replaced by featureless walls of kitchens and corridors, and the graceful Renaissance windows were “diversified” with arches and balconies
This is how the castle would have survived to this day if not for the initiative of Dr. Joaquim Carvalho, who decided to return the unique Renaissance appearance of Villandry. Thanks to Carvalho, restoration of the castle began in 1906, during which the windows were returned to their original appearance, the colonnades of the first floor were restored and the luxurious gardens were replanted. Only the interiors and the southern façade that he remodeled now remind us of the whims of the Marquis de Castellane.
Let's walk a little through the castle interiors. By the way, in most rooms you can find chairs and armchairs of the 18th century, upholstered in silk from the famous factory in Tours, which is still producing this fabric
The dining room, remodeled by the Marquis de Castellana in the spirit of the 18th century, lost the old tapestries on the walls, which were replaced by panels from the time of Louis XV, and the marble floor was covered with parquet
The kitchen is the simplest room of the castle, with terracotta floor tiles, a large fireplace and stonework. Here you can see all the elements of an old kitchen: oak table, copper pots and pans and the like
The large limestone staircase was built by the Marquis de Castellana in the courtyard, on the site of the old octagonal staircase. On the iron railings you can see the initials of the Marquis
The bedrooms on the first floor were traditionally intended for the owner and his guests. They were also restored, but only the interiors of the 18th century were restored, because... to this day there is no evidence of what these rooms looked like before Castellano’s alterations
This bright room once belonged to Napoleon's younger brother, Prince Jerome, who owned Villandry Castle for several years during the Empire period. Accordingly, the design and furniture of this room are in the imperial style: mahogany furniture, red silk curtains and draperies, as well as military signs and spears on the walls
And in this bedroom lived Dr. Carvalho's wife, Anne Coleman. Here you can see portraits of three of the couple's six children
At the corners of the Villandry residence there are four living rooms, each of which had a unique dome. The ceiling of the eastern living room was created in Toledo in the 15th century and is a pattern of many layers of wood covered with gilding
During the restoration of Joaquim Carvalho, only one of these ceilings was restored in the palace; the other three today adorn exhibitions of prestigious international museums
It took a full year to reassemble this ceiling from 3,600 individual pieces. Built in the Mudejar style by Moorish craftsmen for their Spanish patrons, this ceiling combines decorative elements from both Christian and Moorish art: Franciscan cords, shells, flowers and royal coats of arms are mixed with intricate patterns, gilding and arabesques
On the second floor there are two small children's bedrooms with small toys, old books, embroidered clothes and a cradle
The castle tower allows you to look at the Villandry garden from a bird's eye view. In addition, it offers a beautiful view of the valley through which the Loire and Cher flow in parallel for almost fifteen kilometers. This landscape is included in the list World Heritage UNESCO
