Château de Pourtalès (or Château de Robertsau) is a

château A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking re ...

situated in the Robertsau district of

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It's dated to the 18th century and named after the Pourtalès family.

History

The Château de Pourtalès was built around 1750 as a small

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

in the Robertsau neighborhood by Joseph Guérault, then contractor of the works of the king in charge of the construction of the fortifications of

. In 1802, Baron Paul-Athanase Renouard de Bussierre, who was from a wealthy industrial family from Strasbourg, bought the house and expanded the manor into a gracious Château. Between 1870 and 1914, the château was the residence of Comtesse Mélanie de Pourtalès (''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' de Bussière) and her husband, Count Edmond de Pourtalès (a son of the Swiss banker and art collector, Count James-Alexandre de Pourtalès). Comtesse Mélanie, a renowned French salonnière and

Lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...

to Empress Eugénie, was the only surviving child of

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

Alfred Renouard de Bussière, head of the Royal Mint of Paris. During the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

of 1870, the château suffered fire damage. Prominent guests of the château included European aristocracy and members of the arts, including

Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was a German and French polymath from Alsace. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. As a Lutheran minister, ...

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

Napoléon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

and his wife, the

Empress Eugénie The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

, the Princes of Belgium and Russia,

Ludwig I of Bavaria Ludwig I or Louis I (; 25 August 1786 – 29 February 1868) was King of Bavaria from 1825 until the German revolutions of 1848–49, 1848 revolutions in the German states. When he was crown prince, he was involved in the Napoleonic Wars. As ki ...

, the

Grand Duke of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as part of the German Empire until 1918. The duchy's 12th-century origins were as a margravi ...

and the Princess Metternich. After Comtesse Mélanie's death in 1914, the château was inherited by her youngest daughter, Agnès de Pourtalès, who was married to Henri, Marquis de Löys-Chandieu (who had been engaged to

Victoria Sackville-West Victoria Josefa Dolores Catalina Sackville-West, Baroness Sackville (23 September 1862 – 30 January 1936) was a British noblewoman and mother of the writer, poet, and gardener Vita Sackville-West. Early life Victoria was one of seven ...

before her marriage to

Baron Sackville Baron Sackville, of Knole in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1876 for the Honourable Mortimer Sackville-West, with remainder, failing heirs male of his body, to his younger brothers the Hon. ...

). During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, it was occupied by the Germans, and later liberated by the Americans. The owners of the château in 1939 closed the property and during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, it was confiscated by the Germans and used to house high-ranking officers before it was occupied by Allied Forces for a short period following the war. After the War, it was the site an Eastern European University for a short time, but was closed again following the construction of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

. In 1972, the nearly falling down château was bought by Dr. Walter Leibrecht, the founder of

Schiller International University Schiller International University (SIU) is a private, for-profit university with its main campus and administrative headquarters in Tampa, Florida. It is named after the German playwright and philosopher Friedrich Schiller. It has campuses o ...

, to house students of the university. For more than 25 years, Schiller's students resided in the château.

Hotel Château de Pourtalès

In 2009, the Château de Pourtalès was converted to a hotel and has housed many

Members of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Comm ...

during the session.

References

External links

Château de Pourtalès website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pourtales, Chateau De Houses completed in the 18th century Châteaux in Bas-Rhin Hotels in France Buildings and structures in Strasbourg Monuments historiques of Strasbourg Pourtalès family 18th-century architecture in France