Marshal de Saxe's uhlans in Chambord castle
And also
The tops
Governor for life
Stanislas Leszcinski, king of Poland and Louis XV’s father-in-law, lived here between 1725 and 1733... followed by marshal of Saxe, marshal Berthier, and count of Chambord, king Charles X’s grandson.
What about marshal of Saxe? Maurice de Saxe moved in Chambord in 1748. Louis XV even appointed him ″Chambord’s governor for life″ for his unstinting devotion!
My hobby? The theater!
Maurice re-furnished the castle, transformed several apartments. For instance, the theater (Maurice was fond of plays): he maintained a company in the castle, who performed plays by Marivaux. Maurice wanted to compete with Versailles’ theater!
So, in his madness, he spent a fortune for that… 600000 livres (about 1530000 euros)! We can see his theater’s dummies in the castle.
Uhlans, great fun!
Maurice had his own garrison in Chambord. A special one, full of… uhlans. Whoa, an army on horseback full of Polish, Germans, Flemish…
They wore costumes à la tartare, which were very colorful clothes. We had 1000 uhlans, 1000 men who needed an accommodation!
But Maurice spent a fortune for his little army. He loved to see them on training, in the morning. Riders made terrific charges and cannons thundered in Chambord’s quiet air!