Following on from the restoration of the ramparts on the north (the Loire side) for €360 000:
- rearrangement of the Louis Philippe stables, which with the new ticket office, will be open no later than 1 July. Visiting the stables will be the last section of the visitor route and the main exit will, from this year, be via the Heurtault Tower (on the south side).
- installation of a lift within the chateau, next to the Heurtault Tower, which will serve three levels and allow fully integrated access for the disabled.
- the total cost of the work will be 1.5 million euros.
This year the chateau unveils its hidden treasures by opening new exhibition galleries. In the Medici Gallery (first floor, above the river Cher) there will be a display of unusual works of art, paintings, tapestries, furniture and objects as well as documents on the construction stages and the events marking the very rich history of the chateau.
- a Gallery of Carriages will be opened in the 17th century farm stable which will display a collection of horse drawn vehicles from the 18th and 19th centuries.
- in the Galerie des Dômes, at the beginning of summer, a space will be especially dedicated to the contemporary history of the chateau, such as the military hospital installed in the building from 1914 - 18. It will be in recognition of all those wounded and carers who came here during the four years of the Great War. More than 2250 wounded were cared for at Chenonceau.
From April to November the fortress will stage a walk through the history of the Templars, with the theme of 'East Meets West'. There will also be an exhibition in the chateau on the soldier-monks and the treasure of the Templars.
A big exhibition of film, television, theatre and opera costumes from productions about the Middle Ages to the Renaissance displayed in 18 tableaux and including the gown worn by Isabelle Adjani in La Reine Margot.
- all summer the citadel and the royal chateau will celebrate the millenium of the Keep (Donjon) built by Foulques Nerra. For three weekends in August there will be a light show at night.
- from October, a big exhibition 'Twenty Centuries of Sculpture in Touraine' (Vingt siècles de sculptures en Touraine).
Following the repair of the boundary wall on the forest side:
- a study will be commissioned to look at reinstating the entrance to the site along the axis of the chateau.
- a big exhibition this summer on the birds of Villandry (the site is classified by the League pour le Protection des Oiseaux) with an exhibition of sculptures by Marine d'Harcourt in the Sun Garden.
- on 21 September the route of the first Touraine Loire Valley Marathon will pass through the potager.
- renovation of the Spanish paintings gallery in the chateau.
3 comments:
Susan, you have said that Villandry is classified by the LPO...
but not as what!
It is in fact classified as a "Refuge LPO", same as our meadow...
but as a "commercial business refuge" and not as a "private" or "balcony" refuge.
More and more businesses are registering their "waste ground" and spending staff leisure time on their "management"....
it is a superb step forward for the LPO as staff from the businesses concerned have since become members...
and registered their gardens and/or balconies as refuges, too!!
It is worth noting that the RSPB's Teesside reserve started out as a "smoothing the way" excercise by petrochemical giant ICI.
It is now a vital wader stopover on migration and nesting site.
Tim: thanks for the extra info. I didn't know what Villandry's classification was.
Thanks for summary. And your photos are excellent !
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