Location, Location, Location!
The beautiful Château de Chenonceau and its picturesque setting are breathtaking, primarily due to the archways supporting its Gallery and reflections cast upon the River Cher spanned by the castle. Did you know the bridge saved the castle from destruction and played a significant role in history?
In 1793, the Château de Chenonceau was owned by Madame Louise Dupin, one of six women who influenced the castle's construction and history. She was 83 years old when the French Revolution began. At this time, the Loire Valley did not escape the ire of the French, who were looking to rid the country of all royalists and nobles. Despite her age and open-mindedness, she was still considered noble, and consequently, a potential target to be ousted by a crowd that assembled at the castle seeking revenge. Luckily, Abbé Lecomte, the priest of Chenonceau, was her ally.
Knowing the castle was threatened with destruction, he confronted the angry crowd by saying, “What! Citizens! You have only a single bridge between Montrichard and Bléré! And you want to demolish it! You are enemies of the Public Good!” While his words calmed the crowd, it was still necessary for Madame Dupin to prove the castle did not represent a royal property. She produced documents showing it was indeed private property. Abbé Lecomte and Madame Dupin burned 78 portraits of French monarchs, including one of the Sun King, to demonstrate that their loyalties were not associated with the aristocracy. The castle was spared obliteration and still spans the River Cher today.
Approximately 150 years later, in 1940, during World War II, German troops occupied northern France. The boundary between the German-controlled zone in the north and the French-controlled area in the south existed along the River Cher. Anyone wanting to cross into the southern zone required an “ausweis” issued by the Kommandantur, which was rarely granted. As the Germans regularly patrolled the river's edge, attempting an unauthorized crossing was perilous, sometimes resulting in death. Thousands of refugees from Alsace-Lorraine, fleeing prisoners of war, and individuals trying to return home were desperately pursuing a means to cross the river at all costs. The Menier Family, famous French chocolatiers who owned the castle, opened its Gallery as a passageway for people to travel undetected. It was used regularly to reunite families and obtain supplies from the south. This was only possible due to the castle's location over the River Cher.