Win a fantastic and unique silver key ring with a piece of the centuries old tiled roof from the dazzling fairy-tale Chateau de Chenonceau in the Loire.
There has been a castle on the site of Chenonceau since the 11th Century. The original chateau burned down in 1411 and was rebuilt. The new chateau was modified and redesigned over the years and the beautiful castle as we know it today with its turrets and spectacular black slate roof was created in 1513. The black slate is known as ardoise and it looks magnificent against the light coloured walls of this once royal Chateau.
The Chateau de Chenonceau has a long and distinguished history. In 1547 King Henry II of France offered the castle as a gift to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers. She loved the pretty Chateau and spent as much time as she could there and the gardens reflect her feminine touch even today. After her lover the King died in 1559, his widow and regent Catherine de Medici forced Diane to exchange it for the Château Chaumont and made Chenonceau her own favourite residence.
Catherine de Medici spent a fortune on the château and held fabulous parties there. In 1560, the very first ever fireworks display seen in France was held at Chenonceau to celebrate Catherine’s son becoming King Francis II of France.
The chateau changed hands through the years, passing to dukes and Duchesses and rich families, becoming a little dilapidated over time though it luckily escaped destruction during the French Revolution.
In the 1950s the Chateau de Chenonceau passed to a family who decided to restore it to its former glory. The beautiful black slate roof of this ancient chateau needed to be carefully repaired but some of it was beyond help.
A piece of the 500 year old slate roof of the Chateau has been preserved in this silver key ring with an inscription “ardoise du Chateau du Chenonceau”.
If you’d like to win this lovely keepsake – click here to go to our Facebook page and type in the Timeline:
“Yes please to the Chateau de Chenoncea keyring”
And we’ll put your name in a draw and announce the winner on 14th December 2013.
Bonne Chance!
