Built in a classical style, for more than six centuries the Château de Cheverny was the property of the Hurault family, financiers and officers at the service of several kings of France. Today’s castle was built between 1624 and 1630 at the bid and behest of Henri, son of Philippe Hurault, and his wife Marguerite Gaillard de la Morinière, after having been designed by the architect Jacques Bougier. Its exterior is distinguished by “Bourré stone”, which originates in the Cher valley and offers the peculiarity of whitening and hardening as it ages. Sobriety and symmetry characterize the château of Cheverny, representing a precursor of the typically French style tending to prevail under the reign of Louis XIV. Construction work was of such magnitude that Henri and Marguerite did not live to see it completed. Their daughter Elisabeth, marquise of Montglas, entrusted Jean Monier with the finishing of its interior decoration.
Over the ensuing century and a half, the Château de Cheverny repeatedly changed proprietors. In 1825 Anne-Denis-Victor-Hurault, marquis of Vibraye, reacquired the property of his ancestors. Having uninterruptedly remained inhabited, the château of Cheverny possesses remarkably conserved pieces of furniture and interior fittings. The first-floor apartments exemplify the French art of living.
An English-style park with gardens surrounds the castle. Visitors can discover the Jardin des Apprentis, a contemporarily designed garden brought into being in 2006 on the basis of recently rediscovered plans for an ancient French-style garden. As for the vegetable patch, originally conceived by the Marquise de Vibraye, it is distinguished by its original use of different color materials, vegetables and flowers. The Garden of Love, created in 2019, presents six monumental statues by Gudmar Olovson that reflect Love in all its forms.
Cheverny embodies a heritage of not only stones and lands, but also tradition, a prime example being hunting or, more specifically, hunting with fox hounds. The Cheverny équipage was founded in 1850 by the Marquis of Vibraye. And now? In and around the Cheverny forest, only stags are targeted. Every day, from April to September 14, subject to 11:30 am, visitors can witness the “dogs’ food” spectacle.
The château of Cheverny served as a model for the château of Moulinsart invented by the renowned Belgian cartoonist Hergé. The Cheverny estate and the Hergé foundation have pooled their expertise to conjure up and install a permanent theme-based exhibition: the secrets of Moulinsart.
