The gallery in two wars: a hospital, then a border

The short version: in the First World War, Gaston Menier “equipped a temporary military hospital at his own expense” in the gallery, and his daughter-in-law Simonne Menier, infirmière major, ran it: 2,254 wounded soldiers were treated there until December 31, 1918. In the Second World War the Cher was the demarcation line. The château’s entrance stood in occupied France on the right bank and the gallery’s south door opened on the free zone.

Hospital inThe gallery

Paid for byGaston Menier

Run bySimonne Menier

Wounded treated2,254

Until31 December 1918

Second warThe demarcation line

The hospital

Sixty metres of floor with eighteen windows on two sides is, if you are not thinking about architecture, a ward. Gaston Menier — who had inherited the château from his brother Henri in 1913 — equipped a temporary military hospital in it at his own expense. Simonne Menier, his daughter-in-law, served as infirmière major and ran it. The operator’s figure is precise: 2,254 wounded soldiers were treated there until 31 December 1918.

A note on her name, because you will meet it spelled both ways. The operator’s own leaflet writes Simonne Menier, with two n’s. Other sources write Simone Menier and give her dates as 1881 to 1972. This site uses the operator’s spelling, because on facts about this château the family that owns it wins, and it tells you the other spelling exists rather than quietly picking one.

Roses in staked rows in the cutting garden — The flower kitchen garden: over a hectare, twelve square beds and more than four hundred roses, all of it on the one ticket.

The demarcation line

Here is the operator’s leaflet, word for word:

“The Cher materialized the demarcation line. The castle’s entrance was in occupied territory (right bank). The gallery’s south door provided access to the left bank, allowing the Resistance to move many people to free territory.”

Take that apart. The river was the border between occupied France and the free zone. The building stands on the river. The entrance was on the occupied side. The far door of the gallery was on the free side. So the way out of occupied France, for people the Resistance moved, was to walk the length of a Renaissance room.

This is not a story a guide made up on a wet afternoon. It is published by the family that owns the place, in the leaflet handed to every visitor with a ticket, and it is the reason this site exists. It is also the reason not one of the pictures here is captioned as that room.

Twice in thirty years

The same room, both times. Built in 1576 and inaugurated in 1577 as a gallery for a queen, on a bridge a king’s favourite had commissioned, it spent the first war full of beds and the second one as a crossing point. Nothing about its plan was designed for either. It was useful because it was long, it was covered, and it had a door at each end in two different places. Read the gallery for the room itself.

Insider tip

The bridge that made all of this possible was commissioned by Diane de Poitiers in the 1550s, and the gallery on top of it was built by Catherine de’ Medici. Neither of them was solving a problem that would exist four centuries later.

Who was standing there

The Menier family have owned Chenonceau since 1913 and own it still — who owns it. Both wars happened in a house that belonged to somebody, and both of the things described on this page were decisions taken by the people who lived in it.

Book the admission

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Frequently asked questions

What happened at Chenonceau in the First World War?

Gaston Menier equipped a temporary military hospital at his own expense in the gallery, and his daughter-in-law Simonne Menier ran it as infirmière major. The operator records that 2,254 wounded soldiers were treated there until 31 December 1918.

Was Chenonceau on the demarcation line?

Yes. The operator’s leaflet states that the Cher materialized the demarcation line, that the castle’s entrance was in occupied territory on the right bank, and that the gallery’s south door gave access to the left bank, allowing the Resistance to move many people to free territory.

Is it Simonne or Simone Menier?

The operator’s own leaflet writes Simonne, with two n’s. Other sources write Simone and date her 1881 to 1972. This site follows the operator and notes the disagreement.