Construction of Château de Blois

The Château de Blois is a royal château in the Loire Valley, in central France, which developed from a medieval fortress of the counts of Blois, with parts dating from the thirteenth century. It was a favorite residence of French kings in the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, particularly Louis XII and Francis I. Its different wings illustrate the evolution of French architecture, from Gothic through the early Renaissance, with an ornate spiral staircase, to the classical style of the seventeenth-century wing designed by François Mansart. In 1588 Henry III had the Duke of Guise murdered in the château during the Wars of Religion. It is part of the Loire Valley World Heritage Site.

Open on the timeline