Amboise

 

(äNbwäz') , town (1991 pop. 10,972), Indre-et-Loire dept., N central France, in Touraine, on the Loire. It is a wine and wool market, and its manufactures include sporting goods, pharmaceuticals, and film and radio equipment. The town is chiefly famous, however, for its Gothic château, a royal residence from the reign of Charles VIII (who was born and died there) to that of Francis II. Leonardo da Vinci, who probably worked on it, is said to be buried in its chapel. Amboise was the scene (1560) of a Huguenot plot against the Guise family. Other old structures in the town include St. Denis Church (12th, 15th, 16th, and 17th cent.), St. Florentine Church (15th cent.), the town hall (16th cent.; restored), and the Clos-Lucé (15th cent.), where Francis I spent part of his youth and where da Vinci died.

Commune of Amboise
Location
Coordinates	47°24'48" 00°59'50"
Administration
Country	France
Region	Centre
Department	Indre-et-Loire
Arrondissement	Tours
Canton	Amboise
Intercommunality	Communauté de communes Val d'Amboise
Mayor	Christian Guyon (2001-2008)
Statistics
Altitude	52 m–127 m (avg. 58 m)
Land area¹	40.65 km²
Population² (1999)	11,457
- Density	282/km² (1999)
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	37003/ 37400
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel).

Amboise is a medieval town and a commune of France, in the Indre-et-Loire département, on the banks of the Loire River, 14 miles east of Tours. Today a small market town, it was once home of the French royal court.

Sights

The city is famous for the Clos Lucé manor house where Leonardo da Vinci lived (and ultimately died) at the invitation of Francis I of France, whose Château d'Amboise, which dominates the town, is located just 500 meters away. The narrow streets contain some good examples of timbered housing.

Just outside of the city is the Pagode de Chanteloup, a 44 metre tall Chinese Pagoda built in 1775 by the Duke of Choiseul. The Pagoda is seven levels high, with each level slightly smaller than the last one. An interior staircase to reach all levels is open to the public.

The Musée de la Poste (in the Hôtel Joyeuse) is a museum tracing the history of the postal delivery service.

A Max Ernst fountain of a turtle is located on the riverside, where the markets are held.

Amboise viewed from the Château d'Amboise

Château d'Amboise

History

The Amboise conspiracy was the conspiracy of Condé and the Huguenots in 1560 against Francis II, Catherine de' Medici, and the Guises.

The Edict of Amboise (1563) conceded the free exercise of their worship to the Protestants.

The great Leonardo da Vinci spent the remaining years of his life in Amboise. Some of his inventions are still in Amboise and have not been removed. The house has lost some of its original building, but it still remains standing today with a beautiful overlook of the Loire River.

Abd el Kader Ibn Mouhi Ad-Din (c.1807-83) was imprisoned at the Château d'Amboise.

Twin cities

• Boppard, Germany
• Fana, Mali
• Suwa, Japan
• Vinci, Italy
• Baleni, Romania

Miscellaneous

Matthew Starr was born in Amboise centre hositalier intercommunal hopital [Robert Debré][1]. There are two weekly markets. Thursdays specialise in fish, with the main market on Sundays.

External links

• Architecture of Amboise
• Visiting the castle of Amboise - in English
• Experiences will teach you who Leonardo da Vinci really is
• Monument Historique de la Loire : La Pagode Chanteloup
• Indre et Loire - Office de tourisme d' Amboise Val de loire

Donate to Wikimedia