Amboise

Geography

Amboise lies on the banks of the river Loire, 27 km east of Tours. It is also about 18 km away from the historic Château de Chenonceau, situated on the river Cher near the small village of Chenonceaux. Amboise station, on the north bank of the Loire, has rail connections to Orléans, Blois and Tours.

History

Clovis I ( 466 – 511) and the Visigoths signed a peace treaty of alliance with the Arvernians in 503, which assisted his defeat of the Visigothic kingdom in the Battle of Vouillé in 507.

Joan of Arc passed through in 1429 on her way to Orleans to the Battle of Patay.

Château du Clos Lucé was the residence of Leonardo da Vinci between 1516 and his death in 1519. Da Vinci died in the arms of King Francis I, and he was buried in a crypt near the Château d'Amboise. The house has lost some of its original parts, but it still stands today containing a museum of da Vinci's work and inventions, and overlooks the river Loire.

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

The Château at Amboise was home to Mary Stewart, Queen of Scots, for much of her early life, being raised there at the French court of Henry II. She arrived in France from Scotland in 1548, aged six, via the French king's favourite palace at Saint-Germain-en-Laye near Paris, and remained in France until 1561, when she returned to her homeland—sailing up the Firth of Forth to Edinburgh on 15 August that year.

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

Here was born in 1743 Louis Claude de Saint-Martin, French philosopher, known as Le Philosophe Inconnu (d. 1803).

Abd el Kader Ibn Mouhi Ad-Din (c. 1807 – 1883) was imprisoned at the Château d'Amboise.

In 2019, the 500th anniversary of da Vinci's death, Amboise held many events celebrating the master's life and his work completed in the town. The number of visitors to Château du Clos Lucé, for example, was estimated as 500,000 in 2019, a 30% increase over the typical annual number.

Population

|graph-pos = bottom |1793 |5659 |1800 |5113 |1806 |5097 |1821 |5276 |1831 |4613 |1836 |4695 |1841 |4715 |1846 |4956 |1851 |4762 |1856 |4433 |1861 |4570 |1866 |4188 |1872 |4216 |1876 |4475 |1881 |4167 |1886 |4592 |1891 |4480 |1896 |4463 |1901 |4538 |1906 |4731 |1911 |4660 |1921 |4625 |1926 |4483 |1931 |4129 |1936 |4236 |1946 |4443 |1954 |6736 |1962 |7953 |1968 |8625 |1975 |10680 |1982 |10857 |1990 |10982 |1999 |11457 |2007 |12589 |2012 |13157 |2017 |12610

Sights

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

Just outside the city is the Pagode de Chanteloup, a 44 m 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 20th-century fountain by Max Ernst stands in front of the market place.

Economy

Amboise has a thriving tourism-related business community. Until 2021, it had also the headquarters of Mecachrome, a precision engineering company that operates in the aerospace, motor racing, energy and defence sectors.

International relations

Amboise is twinned with:

• GER Boppard, Germany
• MLI Fana, Mali
• JPN Suwa (prefecture of Nagano), Japan
• ITA Vinci, Italy
• ROU Băleni (province of Galați), Romania

Gallery

File:AmboiseFmChateau.jpeg|Amboise viewed from the Château d'Amboise File:Amboise03.jpg|Château d'Amboise File:Amboise Horloge.jpg|Tour de l'Horloge (the Clock Tower) File:Clos Lucé.jpg|Exterior shot of the Clos Lucé Mansion File:Ambuaz IMG 1760.JPG|Château d'Amboise over Loire File:Amboise (cityview from the castle).JPG|Amboise (cityview from the castle) File:Chanteloup Pagoda, 2003 (2).jpg|Pagode de Chanteloup, built in 1775 by the Duke of Choiseul

References

References

1. (16 April 2024). "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises.
2. {{Cite American Heritage Dictionary. Amboise
3. "Leonardo da Vinci | A chinese scholar lost in renaissance Italy".
4. "Archived copy".
5. (29 November 2019). "500 Years After Leonardo Da Vinci's Death, France Celebrates His Life And Work". NPR.
6. {{Cassini-Ehess. 620. Amboise
7. [https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4515315?geo=COM-37003#ancre-POP_T1 Population en historique depuis 1968], INSEE
8. "Amboise: Charming Visitors Since Leonardo da Vinci".
9. (2016-11-30). "Hôtel Le Clos d'Amboise". The Telegraph.
10. Nadeau, Sophie. (2022-03-28). "A Guide to the Best Things to do in Amboise, Loire Valley".
11. "Mecachrome France (31700) : siret, siren, TVA, bilan gratuit...".