Book Escape Game - Conspiracy at Chambord

François I, King and builder of Chambord

François I, born François d'Angoulême on September 12, 1494 in Cognac, died on March 31, 1547 in Rambouillet. Consecrated King of France on January 25, 1515 in Reims Cathedral, he reigned until his death in 1547. The son of Charles d'Orléans (1459-1496), Count of Angoulême, and Princess Louise of Savoy (1476-1531), François I was not destined to become king. Nevertheless, he succeeded Louis XII, his cousin, who was without an heir on his death.

In 1519, he began building a new royal residence at Chambord, in the heart of the game-filled Sologne region. The king followed the construction progress with great interest. It was a palace in his image, inherited from medieval traditions and Renaissance ideas. For him, Chambord was as much a secluded retreat where he liked to come and hunt with his intimates, as it was a brilliant architectural creation and a political manifesto. He also invited foreign diplomats and, in 1539, his rival Charles V, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, to dazzle them.

At the time of his death in 1547, the chapel wing and lower enclosure had not yet been completed. His son Henri II continued to build the west wing.