|
 Cheverny
is a slightly more recent castle then the rest that we visited, having been
completed in 1634 (about the time the Puritans were emigrating to Massachusetts),
replacing a medieval castle that had previously stood in this area. Cheverny is
also different in that it has stayed in the same family for almost seven hundred
years. When you visit Cheverny, portions of it look as if the family had just
stepped out and would be back in a short while. Other rooms are preserved as
they had been in the time of Henri IV and Louis XIII.
 The
facade has a certain familiarity since, as a boy, I read all the Tintin
books and, after
 "Le
Trésor de Rackham le Rouge" Tintin and Captain Haddock lived in
Moulinsart castle which was modeled after the central section of Cheverny. There
is an exhibition of
Tintin memorabilia at Cheverny, in fact, but I didn't have the time to visit
it.
The grounds at Cheverny harbor a famous pack of hunting dogs. It is the hunt
center for the nearby Sologne forest, as evidenced by the many sets of antlers
and the mounted boar's heads in the trophy room. There is also an orangerie and
a large flower garden.
Two items stand out in our memories among the many decorations in the castle:
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This framed certificate was issued to one of the ancestors of the family
when he was elected to the Society of the
Cincinnati, formed by officers
of the Continental Army. It is signed by George Washington. |
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We firmly believe that this clock played the role of the butler in the
Disney version of "Beauty and the Beast." And yes, that's
Fritz and Marie visible in the mirror. |
We took the tour of the castle, dutifully snapping pictures of the rooms and
furnishings, but frankly, at this point, their story eludes me. What follows is
a set of images that should give you a foretaste of what you will find when you
visit Cheverny.
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