The Loire Valley castles during the First World War

On November 11, 2025, we celebrate the 107th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended the First World War, a particularly deadly conflict that cost the lives of more than a million French soldiers.

When this first major international conflict broke out, French society was still deeply marked by the legacies of the 19th century. The châteaux, centers of local power, were inhabited by wealthy landowning families with substantial staffs. On June 28, 1914, the established order was definitively overturned.

Fathers and sons of noble lineages fight alongside workers and peasants. Their wives take matters into their own hands and mobilize; many of them enlist and, together, the couples transform their homes into military hospitals.

• Chenonceau Castle
In Indre-et-Loire, the Château de Chenonceau quickly became one of the most important medical centers in the region. Opened on August 2, 1914, and managed by Simone Menier, its then-owner, it housed nearly 120 beds, which would accommodate more than 2,000 French, Belgian, and Allied soldiers throughout the four years of the war. Operating rooms were installed in the famous galleries overlooking the Cher River, which had already brought renown to this architectural gem, along with one of the first X-ray machines.

• Domain of Chaumont-sur-Loire
Not far from there, the Princess de Broglie, after having considerably transformed the area, made her Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire available to the Red Cross. Located in the heart of an idyllic park, the estate became a medical post and, above all, a rest center for convalescent soldiers.

• Champchevrier Castle
Owned by the same family since 1728, the Château de Champchevrier also became a secondary convalescent hospital at the behest of the baroness and her four daughters, who financed its operation with their personal fortune and dedicated themselves to the work by becoming nurses. In the medicine cabinet, which visitors can see during the tour, one can still glimpse medications used at that time.

Also noteworthy is the installation of a sanitary screening facility in Maine-et-Loire. Montsoreau Castle, from a hospital for minor injuries to Brissac castle (the largest in Europe!) and an accommodation center for medical staff at Serrant Castle.