Loire valley castles and cultural tourism Chenonceaux Blere
CHATEAU D'USSE
RIGNY-USSE
Chateau d'Usse
37420 RIGNY-USSE
: 02 47 95 54 05
Web Site : CHATEAU D'USSE
At the of the dark and mysterious forest of Chinon, the majestic white outline of Ussé, the castle of Sleeping Beauty stands impressively over the Indre Valley.
It inspired Perrault to write his famous stories and it remains a symbol of the medieval fairytale castle inhabited by brave lords, beautifuls ladies and poets. Its was mainly built in the 15th and16th centuries on the foundations of an 11th century fortress, but its sucessives owners , each with teir personal touch, brought to it a unique charm; in 1521 Charles d'Espinay built the collegiale chapel with its superb choir.
In 1664 the marquis de Valentinay commissioned the formal gardens designed by Le Nôtre, the famous architect of the gardens of Versailles, richly ornate with beautiful flowers and orange trees.
The marquis also added the pavillon wvich now constitutes the left wing of the castle.
However the owners did not forget the interior decoration, impovingnparticulary in the 18th century, the royal appartments of which the walls and seats are still covered in the original somptuous silks.
The various pieces of furniture, bought from the best cabinet-markers of the time, already listed in an inventory of 1781 are still placed in the same roomp throughout the castle.
