French Castles
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Château d’Ussé
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Château d’Ussé is situated west of Azay-le-Rideau, close to the River Loire, in the Indre-et-Loire department. It was originally built around 1,000 AD by Viking warrior Gelduin I. During the Hundred Years War, the fortress was owned by Charles VII’s captain, Jean V de Bueil (1406–1477); called le Fléau des Anglais ‘plague of the English’. Later, the castle’s new owner was Louis Bernin de Valentinay (1627-1709), Louis XIV’s Controller-General of Finances. Louis was well-connected and married well, none other than the daughter of the Maréchal de Vauban (1633-1707), the foremost military engineer of the 17th century, who made alterations to the terraces at Ussé in 1664. Le Nôtre (1613-1700), who designed the gardens at Versailles, was responsible for the creation of the park and the gardens at Ussé. Charles Perrault visited the castle several times and is said to have been inspired by the magical atmosphere and the incredible architecture. Later, many other famous Frenchmen visited the castle, such as Voltaire and Chateaubriand (Info Tours, 2016).
Ussé was classified as an historical monument in 1931. Nowadays, Casimir de Blacas d'Aulps, the 7th Duke of Blacas, is the owner of the castle. Since 2000, Ussé is part of the area of the Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes, which has been added to UNESCO World Heritage List (UNESCO, 2000). There are around 50 mannequins in the castles, many along the sentry walk and in specially decorated rooms which illustrate scenes from Sleeping Beauty, such as when she pricks her finger on the spindle and when she is awoken by Prince Charming. The castle takes full advantage of its connection to Perrault and Sleeping Beauty. Interestingly, the mannequins obviously resemble the characters as depicted in Disney’s 16th animated feature film (1959), which was based on Perrault’s fairy tale, even though there are many differences: in the movie, the princess is named ‘Aurora’ (Latin for ‘dawn’), as in the original Tchaikovsky ballet (1890). In Perrault’s version, Aurora is the name of the princess's daughter. The original wicked nameless fairy godmother became a wicked witch and was named Maleficent in Disney’s movie.
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Château du Plessis-Bourré
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Château du Plessis-Bourré is situated in the Loire Valley, in the commune of Écuillé (Maine-et-Loire department). Jean Bourré (1424-1506), Finance Minister to King Louis XI (reign: 1461-1483), built the castle in 1472. Henry Vaïsse became the castle’s owner in 1911. It was listed as an historical monument in 1931. The château became the property of François Reille-Soult, Duke of Dalmatie, in 1956. Being part of the Loire valley, it was added to the UNESCO heritage list in 2000. Since 2010, Aymeric d'Anthenaise and Jean-François Reille-Soult de Dalmatie are the managers. The famous French director Jacques Demy (1931-1990; French New Wave; director of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg in 1964 and The Young Girls of Rochefort in 1967) filmed Peau d'Âne (Donkey Skin) at Plessis-Bourré in 1970. In 1694, Perrault published a collection of verse tales, including Peau d'Âne. The tale was dedicated to the marquise de Lambert (1647-1733), because Perrault was frequenting her literary salon. The movie is an adaptation of Perrault’s story, starring Catherine Deneuve and Jean Marais. According to Hill (2005), Demy was fascinated by Perrault's tale and began to write a script in 1962. His movie contains many references to Jean Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast (1946), also starring Jean Marais. Live actors were famously used to portray human statues. Many other movies were filmed at Plessis-Bourré, such as Le Bossu (On Guard, with Daniel Auteuil in 1997) and The Princess of Montpensier (with Mélanie Thierry and Lambert Wilson in 2010).
