Blois (Municipality, Loir-et-Cher, France)

Last modified: 2003-08-21 by ivan sache
Keywords: loir-et-cher | blois | fleur-de-lys (blue) |
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by Arnaud Leroy

Source: Mairie de Blois

• Presentation of the city
• Description of the flag

See also:

• France
• Loir-et-Cher (Department, France)

Presentation of the city

Blois is a city of c. 50,000 inhabitants, préfecture of the department of Loir-et-Cher, located on the river Loire, and is one of the main centers of asparagus production in France.

The history of Blois is full of crimes, plots and conjury. The castle of Blois, where most of these events took place, has a composite architecture, whose different elements reflect the artistic choices of its successive owners.

In the Middle Ages, the Counts of Blois were powerful lords, who fought against their neighbours, the Counts of Anjou, for the domination on the region. In 1392, the last Count of Blois sold his County to Louis, Duke of Orléans and brother of King of France Charles VI (1380-1422. The Duke set up his court to Blois, where he died in 1407.
Louis' elder son, Charles (1394-1465), had a very sad life. In 1415, he was captured during the battle of Ajincourt and spent 25 years in captivity in England. When he came back to Blois, he modernized the old feudal castle where he spent the rest of his life in voluntary reclusion. He set up in Blois a brilliant court and has remained famous for his refined poems (ballad and rondeaux). In 1462, he had one of the only joys in his life with the birth of his son Louis II, later King of France as Louis XII (1498-1515).
Louis XII