Château de Cheverny – Captain Haddock’s Château de Moulinsart
The Château de Cheverny gained international renown thanks to a comic strip by the Belgian cartoonist Hergé.
The creator of The Adventures of Tintin was clearly impressed by the castle’s understated elegance, as he used it as a model for Marlinspike Hall, Captain Haddock’s ancestral home
Hergé found inspiration in the architecture of the Château de Cheverny to create the fictional Château de Moulinsart, Captain Haddock’s ancestral home.
Although Moulinsart is a faithful replica of Cheverny, it is smaller. Both the Château de Cheverny and the Château de Moulinsart are perfect illustration of elegant and refined Classical architecture.
Château de Cheverny, a masterpiece of Classical architecture
The architectural harmony of the Château de Cheverny is the result of its uninterrupted construction, which took place from 1604 to 1634.
Two identical buildings with pointed roofs, complemented by two corner pavilions topped with square roofs, frame the main entrance.
The understated elegance of the cream-coloured stone facade contrasts with the blue-grey slate roofs and enhances the symmetrical beauty of the building.
The Château de Cheverny is renowned for its exceptional interior decoration and is considered to be the most richly decorated château in the Loire Valley, and was opened to the public in 1922.
Château de Cheverny’s private apartments
The eight rooms of the private apartments at the Château de Cheverny are magnificently decorated and furnished.
The Dining Room was redecorated in the 19th century and features a ceiling and wood panelling depicting scenes from the life of Don Quixote, painted by Pierre Monier. The walls are adorned with fine leather bearing the coat of arms of the Counts Heurtault de Cheverny.
Monier also painted the walls of the Armoury, a superb room containing a collection of armour and weapons dating from the 15th and 16th centuries, as well as a splendid 19th-century Gobelins tapestry.
The King’s Bedchamber, also decorated with paintings and gilding by Monier, exudes royal opulence, while the Grand Salon boasts a collection of superb paintings and gilded ornaments.
An impressive collection of paintings and furniture adorns the Galerie, while the Petit Salon displays paintings dating from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The Library is renowned for its exquisite woodwor, and finally, the Tapestry Room, as its name suggests, houses an exceptional collection of Flemish tapestries.
Château de Cheverny’s Kennel and Orangerie
Hunting has always been important to the Heurtault family, the current owners of the château, as evidenced by the impressive kennels.
The fully restored 18th-century Orangery now offers a versatile space for receptions and exhibitions, and you can also tour the extensive park by electric buggy or rowboat.
Department of Indre-et-Loire
Coordinates: Lat 47.500210 – Long 1.458005
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Architecture facade Christophe.Finot CC BY-SA 2.5 – Chateau de Moulinsart by PBrieux CC BY-SA 4.0 – Orangerie by Andrea Schaffer CC BY 2.0 – Classical architecture by Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert CC BY-SA 4.0
