Site Officiel du Château de Blois
The Restorations since the 19th century
Felix Duban and his successors
Under the instigation of Prospere Merimee and in the midst of the Romantic period that was celebrating the history and art of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the Château of Blois was classified in 1840 on the first list drawn up concerning « historical monuments for which funding is requested ».

Felix Duban architect who restored the castle in 19th century.In 1843, the city decided to restore the François I wing and requested State aid. Felix Duban was appointed by the Commission of Historical Monuments for the restoration of the château. He found the monument in piteous state, the Louis XII and François constructions were partitioned, and the Gaston d’Orléans wing was still unfinished. Scupture and emblèmes in particular had been damaged during the French Revolution. Likewise, the installation of a military barracks in 1788 had also caused deterioration.

Duban drew up an overall plan of restoration based on remaining vestiges, graphic documents, engravings by Du Cerceau, and drawings by Félibien. Very conscious of Renaissance architecture, he continued to work in the tradition of the classsical architects and gave coherence to the courtyard by inventing the façade and the steeple for the chapel.

Work on the François I wing began in 1845. After an interruption caused by the Revolution in 1848, work was resumed from 1852 to 1865 on the Louis XII wing and the Hall of the Estates General and ended with chapel in 1870. Duban died as the interior decoration of this last building was being completed. Jules de la Morandière, who was his assistant over many years as well as a friend and former student, continued to supervise his master’s restoration up until its completion ten years later.

Duban was above all interested in the overall view and the decoration. He preserved all possible remains, but otherwise completely recreated the interior decoration. He tried to use the same stone as the original. At the time of his death, the château’s appearance was close to what it would have been like in the 16th century.

The château was entrusted to an architect and inspector general of Historical Monuments whose approach was quite different from Duban’s. He was particularly interested in the technical aspects : a resumption of work on the rafters and roofing, the treatment of the gable in the François I wing, the installation of a draining system, and the reinforcement of the floors in the François I wing using the new techniques of reinforced ciment and iron girders. At the same time, he replaced a good part of the crowning features above the elevations and roofs with very ornate models that lack historical reference.

Alphonse Goubert succeeded Baudot and undertook the restoration of the Gaston d’Orléans wing. In 1921, he created the grand staircase in stone derived from Mansart’s drawings and installed a lapidary museum on the ground level in the François I wing. The bombings during the Second World War caused damage to the southern façade of the château, particularly the Louis XII wing and the chapel whose stained glass windows were destroyed. In 1946, Michel Ranjard was charged with repairing the damages.

A new restoration has been underway since 1990. Conducted by Pierre Lebouteux and then Patrick Ponsot, it concerns the renovation of the roofs, the exterior façades and the flooring in the François I wing. From 2003 to 2007, nearly 8 000 m² of the painted decoration dating from the 19th century was restored in the François I wing and the Hall of the Estates General.