Overlooking the Indre and the Loire rivers, the Château d’Ussé rises to a daunting height as a fairy tale castle. Its story began long before construction of today’s monument, more than a thousand years ago, under the impetus of Gelduin I. A new edifice, far more solid and sumptuous than the previously existing stronghold, came into being during the second half of the 15th century thanks to Jean V de Bueil, victorious in the Hundred Years’ War and captain of King Charles VII.
Renaissance finesse and elegance soon came to characterize the château of Ussé. From one century to the next, one room after another was richly furnished, decorated and embellished. For example, after having gone through the entrance hall, the visitor will discover an extraordinary guard room; a splendid 17th-century trompe l’œil ceiling in imitation marble overlays an eclectic collection of arms and Oriental objects. Ussé refinement reaches a form of paroxysm in the 17th-century salon, an integrally refurbished room that bears the evocative name Vauban, a renowned marshal whose daughter wed the Marquis of Valentinay, son of the illustrious château proprietor. From one generation to the next, the beautification of Ussé proceeded apace. The most recent modifications were carried out during the 19th century, when Countess de La Rochejacquelin had the upper parts of the doors decorated, installed a spiral staircase in the entranceway and added a neogothic gallery.
The château of Ussé is a monument of which the history and the architecture astound. The parapet walkway propels the visitor in a parallel universe, the sphere of magic stories and fairy tales. Thanks to scenography bringing wax figures to the forefront, the universe of Sleeping Beauty takes shape, with special guest appearances by the fairy godmother Carabossa, Prince Charming and the three kind fairy godmothers of Princess Dawn.
A whimsical nod to Charles Perrault is in order; he was so enchanted by the castle that he made it the theater of his celebrated tale.
The Château d’Ussé park is an unusual setting containing a French-style garden drawn up in 1664 by André Le Nôtre. Shade-producing cedars of Lebanon offered in the 19th century by Chateaubriand to the duchess of Duras stand side by side with the stones of the chapel of Sainte-Anne d’Ussé, which is open for visits. Constructed between 1535 and 1538 at the request of Charles d’Espinay and Lucrèce de Pons, it has painstakingly conserved an unusual lintel.
The totally private estate of Ussé has belonged for over two centuries to the same family. The Duke of Blacas invites visitors to explore the furnished rooms of his amazing residence and to discover, each year, a new exhibition of costumes dating from various epochs. From the basement to the attic, including the King’s chamber, the stables, the grand staircase and the kitchens, the monument encourages the visitor to immerse himself in history … and in the some of the most widely known and lovingly recounted fairy tales of our literature.