The current Chateau de Champigny-sur-Veude is in fact the former gatehouse and stables of what was once a grand chateau. The original chateau was built by the Bourbon-Vendôme dynasty at the end of the 15th, beginning of the 16th centuries, along with the beautiful 'Sainte-Chapelle St Louis' . Under the ownership of Gaston d'Orléans the third son of Henri IV and Marie
de Medici, it was sold to Cardinal Richelieu' He acquired it for the sole purpose of razing it.apparently out of jealousy and to provide materials for his own grand design of a chateau only 7 kms away, on the outskirts of his new 'model' town bearing his name. Sadly or perhaps the result of karma this too has been lost to us courtesy of the French Revolution.
The property was eventually returned to the descendants of Gaston d'Orléans and under the stewardship of Anne
Marie Louise of Orleans who transformed the stables of the west wing to transforming them into comfortable accommodation.She had the ceilings removed to give height to the
reception rooms and large windows were opened up to allow the building to flood with light.
She had a beautiful monumental white stone staircase was built to lead to the rooms along with some heavily adorned fireplaces.
The current American owners open it to the public from May until September - you can check here for opening times.
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