When was the Château de Chenonceau built?
The sequence
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1513 | Thomas Bohier, chamberlain to Charles VIII, buys the estate |
| 1515–1521 | The new residence is built; Katherine Briçonnet oversees the work and receives François Ier twice |
| 1547 | Henri II gives the château to Diane de Poitiers |
| 1555 | Diane takes formal ownership and commissions Philibert de l’Orme to build the arched bridge |
| 1559 | Henri II dies; Catherine de’ Medici forces the exchange of Chenonceau for Chaumont |
| 1576 | The gallery is built on Diane’s bridge |
| 1577 | The gallery is inaugurated |
The four dates worth carrying
1513, when Thomas Bohier bought the estate. 1515 to 1521, when the house went up and Katherine Briçonnet oversaw the work. 1555, when Diane de Poitiers took formal ownership and commissioned the bridge. 1576 and 1577, when Catherine de’ Medici’s gallery was built on that bridge and inaugurated. All four are the operator’s own figures, from the leaflet that comes with the ticket.
What was there before
The Tower of the Marques, which still stands on the terrace and is the first thing the operator’s route shows you. Everything else on the near bank is Bohier and Briçonnet’s house from the 1510s; everything over the water is Diane and Catherine’s from the 1550s and 1570s. The join is visible from the far bank and it is the clearest thing about the whole building.
And since
Louise de Lorraine inherited in 1589 and stayed until her death in January 1601. Louise Dupin acquired the estate in 1733 and, in the operator’s words, “saved the château from destruction during the French Revolution”. Marguerite Pelouze bought it in 1864 and began a restoration around 1875. The château is classé at the title of monuments historiques on the original 1840 list. The whole sequence of owners is on the Ladies and who owns it.
Next
- The gallery, and what happened at its two ends.
- The route through what all of that built.
- What classé means for an owner.
Frequently asked questions
When was the Château de Chenonceau built?
The estate was bought in 1513 and the residence built between 1515 and 1521. The bridge across the Cher followed in the 1550s and the gallery on top of it was built in 1576 and inaugurated in 1577.
Who built Chenonceau?
Thomas Bohier bought the estate and his wife Katherine Briçonnet oversaw the building of the house. Diane de Poitiers commissioned the bridge from Philibert de l’Orme, and Catherine de’ Medici built the gallery on top of it.
When was the gallery built?
Built 1576 and inaugurated 1577, per the operator’s own guide leaflet. It went up on the bridge Diane de Poitiers had commissioned twenty years before.