page_title: Château
hierarchical_section_title: Château
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Le manoir de Tarde, La Roque-Gageac, Dordogne, France
context_page_description: A château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry.
  It may have fortifications, but often has none. The term comes from French-speaking regions and is used most often for buildings in these regions. Where clarification is needed, a fortified château is called a château fort. But the word is not used in the same way as "castle" is in English, and most châteaux are more appropriately described as "palaces" or "country houses" in English than as "castles". For example, the Château de Versailles is so called because it was in the country when it was built, but it does not bear any resemblance to a castle, so it is usually known in English as the Palace of Versailles.The Château de Montsoreau is the first Renaissance château to have been built in France, in the world famous Loire Valley. The Château de Montsoreau is also the only one to have been built in the Loire riverbed.
context_section_description: A château (plural châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry.
  It may have fortifications, but often has none. The term comes from French-speaking regions and is used most often for buildings in these regions. Where clarification is needed, a fortified château (that is, a castle) is called a château fort. But the word is not used in the same way as  "castle" is in English, and most châteaux are more appropriately described as "palaces" or "country houses" in English than as "castles". For example, the Château de Versailles is so called because it was in the country when it was built, but it does not bear any resemblance to a castle, so it is usually known in English as the Palace of Versailles.The Château de Montsoreau is the first Renaissance château to have been built in France, in the world famous Loire Valley. The Château de Montsoreau is also the only one to have been built in the Loire riverbed.
caption: A rural château in France.
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