The east wing and entrance-front of the château, of red brick and stone, was built by Louis XII., probably while he was Duke of Orleans, and finished before his death in 1501. His emblem—the porcupine—can be seen above the little door on the right of the archway, above which is an equestrian statue of Louis XII.—a modern work, taking the place of the old one destroyed in the Revolution. This wing now contains the Museum and Picture Gallery.
The north wing was built by François I. between 1516-1525. François I., while transforming the exterior, kept one of the towers of the old fortress,
Town Plan No. 9.—Blois.
whose dungeons served as prisons; the west wing, later demolished by Gaston d’Orléans; and also the Grande Salle de Justice, known later as the Salle des États, from the États généraux held there in 1576 and 1588. This hall united the new wing to the old one of Louis XII. It is a thirteenth-century building, with its roof supported by eight
Plan of the North Side of the Château of Blois.
On the first floor are the rooms of Catherine de Medici, and above are those of Henri III., the scene of the historic murder of Henri, Duc de Guise.
5 V, the Council-hall, and VI the fireplace at which Guise warmed himself. The dotted line shows the way Guise left the Council-hall for the Cabinet Vieux, where the King (Henry III.) awaited him. XVIII, the narrow passage in which Guise was stabbed.