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Château de Valençay is achâteau in thecommune ofValençay, in theIndredepartment of France. It was a residence of thed'Estampes andTalleyrand-Périgord families. Although it is part of the province ofBerry, its architecture invites comparison with theRenaissance châteaux of theLoire Valley, notably theChâteau de Chambord. The manor was praised as "one of the most beautiful on earth" byGeorge Sand, who also noted that "no king has owned a more picturesque park".
Château de Valençay is located at the edge of a plateau overlooking the Nahon River. In ancient times, the site of the château was home to aGallo-Roman villa calledValenciacus, the domain of Valens. By the 10th or 11th century, a "heavy and massive tower" had been built, and between 1026 and 1047, a donation charter deeded Valençay to its first recorded lord, Bertrand. In 1220, the then lord of Valençay, Gauthier, was reported to have built a feudal castle or house on the site, but it is unclear if this was an addition or an extension to the earlier tower. There are remains of the original structure buried under the courtyard.
The modernchâteau was built on a royal scale by theEstampes family of financiers over a period of some 200 years. Construction started in 1540 at the behest ofJacques d'Estampes in place of the demolished 12th-centurycastle and was not completed until the 18th century when the south tower was added.
The 18th century saw a rapid succession of owners, including the notorious Scottish bankerJohn Law, who purchased the estate in 1719.[1]: 423 Nearly a century later, in 1803,Napoleon ordered his foreign ministerCharles Maurice de Talleyrand to acquire the property as a place particularly appropriate for the reception of foreign dignitaries, notablyFerdinand VII of Spain, his brotherInfante Carlos, Count of Molina and his uncleInfante Antonio Pascual, who would spend six years in Napoleonic captivity at Valençay.[2] Thetreaty providing for their release in 1813 took the estate's name. Talleyrand tookMarie-Antoine Carême as his chef.
The period of Talleyrand's occupancy was the golden age in the history of Valençay, with twenty-three communes reportedly administered by the ruling prince. Undoubtedly the most celebrated of Talleyrand's servants employed at Valençay was his chef,Marie-Antoine Carême. After Talleyrand's death in 1838, the great statesman was buried in a small mortuary chapel in the park. His collateral descendants retained the estate's ownership until 1952 when the male line ended. The last prince bequeathed the property to his stepson, who sold it to an association of historic chateaux in 1979.
The Princes of Talleyrand-Périgord ranked among themediatized German nobility by virtue of their nominal control of theduchy of Sagan in PrussianSilesia (now in Poland). On this technicality, the château was spared the German occupation during the Second World War. Having established his personal neutrality, the Duke of Sagan saw treasures from theLouvre (like theWinged Victory of Samothrace and theVenus de Milo) safely sheltered at Valençay.[3]
Relics of the 16th century include an outsized round tower at the western corner, capped by a domeà l'impériale, and the central block in the shape of adonjon, with a slender tower on each corner, grouped around the raking roof. Its feigned battlements are evocative of the Middle Ages, a retrospective formula stylistically derived from Chambord but somewhat vitiated by ample fenestration, including characteristic Renaissance dormers.
The exterior has withstood time and the elements remarkably well. It is clothed in classical orders: theDoric order on the ground floor, theIonic order on the first floor, and theCorinthian order on the second. This was an innovative feature anticipating French classicism. An arcaded gallery rings the courtyard. The western wing, with its Mansard roof, dates from the 17th century.
Talleyrand's château boasts one of the most advanced interiors of theEmpire style anywhere. There are a hundred rooms, of which a quarter comprises Talleyrand's apartments. A room of King Ferdinand is also shown to tourists. The western wing contains the Talleyrand Museum, formerly housed in outbuildings.
The formal French gardens, dating from the early 20th century, cover about forty hectares, not counting the area of Talleyrand's vineyards. Llamas, peacocks, and other exotic animals kept in the park provide amusements for tourists.
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47°09′27″N1°33′48″E / 47.1576°N 1.5633°E /47.1576; 1.5633
