Boxwood Garden - Chateau Villandry

Copyright: Christiane Schulze
The Chateau de Villandry is a castle-palace located in Villandry, in the departement of Indre-et-Loire,... more

by Christiane Schulze Art And Photography

Title

Boxwood Garden - Chateau Villandry

Artist

Christiane Schulze Art And Photography

Medium

Photograph - Photography - Digital Photography

Description

Copyright: Christiane Schulze
The Chateau de Villandry is a castle-palace located in Villandry, in the departement of Indre-et-Loire, France.

The lands where an ancient fortress once stood were known as Colombier until the 17th century. Acquired in the early 16th century by Jean Le Breton, France's Controller-General for War under King Francis I, a new chateau was constructed around the original 14th-century keep where King Philip II of France once met Richard I of England to discuss peace. It is also known for its beautiful gardens.

The chateau remained in the Le Breton family for more than two centuries until it was acquired by the Marquis de Castellane. During the French Revolution the property was confiscated and in the early 19th century, Emperor Napoleon acquired it for his brother Joseph Bonaparte.

In 1906, Joachim Carvallo purchased the property and poured an enormous amount of time, money and devotion into repairing it and creating what many consider to be the most beautiful gardens anywhere. Its famous Renaissance gardens include a water garden, ornamental flower gardens, and vegetable gardens. The gardens are laid out in formal patterns created with low box hedges. In 1934, Chateau de Villandry was designated a Monument historique. Like all the other chateaux of the Loire Valley, it is a World Heritage Site.

Still owned by the Carvallo family, the Chateau de Villandry is open to the public and is one of the most visited chateaux in France; in 2007 the chateau received about 330,000 visitor.
From Wikipedia

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February 13th, 2010