The Château d’Ussé: Castle of Sleeping Beauty

Ussé, a château in the Indre-et-Loire département, France, is famous for its stunning appearance and the inspiration it provided to French author Charles Perrault and Walt Disney. The château was first fortified in the 11th century by Gueldin de Saumur. The site was later passed to the Comte de Blois, who rebuilt it in stone. In the 15th century, Jean V de Bueil, a captain-general of Charles VII, purchased the ruined château and began rebuilding it in the 1440s.

His son Antoine de Bueil married Jeanne de Valois, the biological daughter of Charles VII and Agnès Sorel, who brought as dowry 40,000 golden écus. The Espinay family, who bought the château later, rebuilt and expanded it, with the chapel completed in 1612 fusing Flamboyant Gothic and Renaissance styles. Louis I de Valentinay demolished parts of the north range in the 17th century to open up the interior court and create a beautiful parterre terrace.

Today, Ussé belongs to Casimir de Blacas d’Aulps, the 7th Duke of Blacas. Charles Perrault, author of 'The Sleeping Beauty', often visited the castle and found inspiration for his story while there. The château’s picturesque exterior inspired a French railroad poster in the 1920s and influenced Disney castles. Ussé was classified as a monument historique in 1931 by the French Ministry of Culture.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons