Amboise

Amboise, a French town in the department of Indre-et-Loire, on the Loire, 15 miles by rail E. of Tours. It lies in a region so rich in vineyards that it has been called 'the Garden of France.' The town is memorable for the Huguenot conspiracy (1560), which cost the lives of 1200 Protestants, and as the place whence was issued the Edict of Amboise (1563), conceding certain privileges to the Huguenots. The castle of Amboise from 1431 was a frequent residence of the Valois kings; the birth and death place of Charles VIII.; and since the days of Louis XI., 15,000 prisoners are said to have been confined in its subterranean 'oubliettes.' Pop. 4580.