page_title: Château de Chenonceau
section_title: The Marques family
hierarchical_section_title: Château de Chenonceau / History / The Marques family
caption_attribution_description: English: Plan of the Château de Chenonceau, engraving from Jacques I Androuet du Cerceau's second (1579) volume of Les plus excellents Bastiments de France.
context_page_description: The Château de Chenonceau is a French château spanning the River Cher, near the small village of Chenonceaux in the Indre-et-Loire département of the Loire Valley in France. It is one of the best-known châteaux of the Loire valley.
  The estate of Chenonceau is first mentioned in writing in the 11th century. The current château was built in 1514–1522 on the foundations of an old mill and was later extended to span the river. The bridge over the river was built to designs by the French Renaissance architect Philibert de l'Orme, and the gallery on the bridge, built from 1570–1576 to designs by Jean Bullant.
context_section_description: In the 13th century, the fief of Chenonceau belonged to the Marques family. The original château was torched in 1412 to punish owner Jean Marques for an act of sedition. He rebuilt a château and fortified mill on the site in the 1430s. Jean Marques's indebted heir Pierre Marques found it necessary to sell.
caption: Plan of the main block, engraved by Du Cerceau (1579)
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