Château de Chenonceaux

The Château de Chenonceau (French: [ʃa.to də ʃə.nɔ̃.so]) is a French château spanning the River Cher, near the small village of Chenonceaux in the Indre-et-Loire département of the Loire Valley in France. It is one of the best-known châteaux of the Loire valley.

The estate of Chenonceau is first mentioned in writing in the 11th century. The current château was built in 1514–1522 on the foundations of an old mill and was later extended to span the river. The bridge over the river was built (1556-1559) to designs by the French Renaissance architect Philibert de l'Orme, and the gallery on the bridge, built from 1570–1576 to designs by Jean Bullant.

The difference between the name of the chateau and the name of the village is attributed to Louise Dupin, owner of the chateau during the French Revolution, who supposedly dropped the "x" at the end of its name to differentiate what was a symbol of royalty from the Republic. As a result of her good relations to the village, the chateau was saved from utter destruction. Although no official sources have been found to support this claim, the chateau has ever since been called Chenonceau.

An architectural mixture of late Gothic and early Renaissance, Château de Chenonceau and its gardens are open to the public. Other than the Royal Palace of Versailles, it is the most visited château in France.

The Chateau is 79.96 meters long and 31.11 meters wide at the entrance, and 11.83 meters wide at the gallery on the bridge.

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