Guienne Castle in France, Loire Valley resort
Rating: 7,9/10 (5432 votes)  Guienne Castle is located in that part of the Loire, which is famous for its hunting grounds. Actually, on the site of a small hunting lodge, a castle was built. Received from the French crown, it belonged to Anne de Beauges, the eldest daughter of Louis XI. The castle changed many noble owners: after the death of Anne de Beauje, the castle belonged to the Crown, then Francis I often visited it, Henry II lived, during the Religious Wars Catherine de Medici and Charles IX took refuge in the castle; Henry III, Anne of Austria and Louis XIV lived here. During the Revolution, the County of Guienne was abolished, and in 1823 the castle passed into the ownership of the Loire department and is still it. The windows of the wide castle building face south and east. They offer amazing views of the city, river and countryside. The internal facades are decorated with stone and brick towers. In them – spiral staircases and square rooms, which are also surrounded by towers. The Museum of the Hunt was created in the castle. This is due to a number of reasons, the main one of which is – the location of the castle. It is located in an area of the Loire that has always been a 'favorite place' migratory animals. The Orleans forests, stretching over tens of thousands of hectares, have always been full of big game. The Museum has many collections, arranged in chronological order and telling visitors the centuries-old history of gun hunting. Along with weapons are exhibits such as prints and drawings, tapestries and paintings, hunting equipment and painted ceramic crafts. Also on display are flintlock guns, which are equipped with very long barrels, which allows you to hunt on horseback without injuring a horse, and double-barreled guns. All these exhibits – true works of art: they are decorated with carvings, engravings, notches of gold and silver, inlaid with mother of pearl, ivory, shells, precious metals. On the second floor, in the large hall, about 80 paintings are exhibited and sketches by Francois Deport, a famous animal painter. The organizers of the exhibitions believe that a separate exhibition hall is needed for his peculiar and unusual works. The deport was close to the personality of King Louis XIV, often accompanied him on the hunt and had the opportunity to capture all the king's hunting trophies. In addition, he painted portraits of the king's best dogs. Deport was also involved in decorating houses of the royal and other noble families. Next to Deport's canvases are two paintings by his successor, F B. Udri.  We also recommend reading City of Sartene in France, resort of Corsica Topic: Guienne Castle in France, Loire Valley resort. |
