The Palais Besenval is a baroque palace at Kronengasse 1 in the Swiss city of
Solothurn.
History
The palace is named after the brothers
Johann Viktor II. Besenval (1671–1736) and
Peter Joseph Besenval (1675–1736), on whose behalf the building was erected. It was built from 1703 to 1706 alongside the
Aare as a ''hotel entre cour et jardin'', modeled on French noble townhouses. The complex consists, from east to west, of the areas of the courtyard (''
Cour d’honneur''), main wing (''
Corps de Logis'') and a
Baroque garden
The Baroque garden was a style of garden based upon symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. The style originated in the late-16th century in Italy, in the gardens of the Vatican and the Villa Borghese gardens in Rome and in the ga ...
. The south facade of the two-storey palace facing the Aare is designed almost symmetrically.
[Stefan Blank: ''«Der allhiesigen Statt eine Zierd» – Zur Geschichte und Bedeutung des Palais Besenval in Solothurn.'' In: Andrea Nold (editor): ''Archäologische Ausgrabungen im Garten des Palais Besenval in Solothurn: Ein Quartier an der Aare vom Mittelalter bis in die Neuzeit.'' Solothurn: Amt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie, 2009, p.81–91. ]
online
After the death of the Besenval brothers in 1736, the palace passed to Peter Joseph's daughter Maria Johanna Margaritha Viktoria Besenval (1704–1793). She married the later mayor
Franz Viktor Augustin von Roll (1700–1773), which brought the Palais to the von Roll family. Her only son
Franz Joseph von Roll (1743-1815) took over the inheritance in 1793 and passed it on to his youngest son Friedrich von Roll (1773-1845) in 1815. During the Roll era, the Besenval coat of arms on the south facade gable was probably removed.
The canton of Solothurn bought the property in 1829 and the building became the residence of the
Bishop of Basel. He resided in the palace until the ''
Kulturkampf
(, 'culture struggle') was the conflict that took place from 1872 to 1878 between the Catholic Church led by Pope Pius IX and the government of Prussia led by Otto von Bismarck. The main issues were clerical control of education and ecclesiastic ...
'' in 1873. From 1879 the building served as a student food house of the
Kantonsschule Solothurn. After a public discussion about a possible demolition, the building was renovated and restored from 1950 to 1952 and then used by the cantonal administration. In 1988/89 the palace was renovated for use as a
cantonal cultural center until 2000. It was renovated in 2005/06 and has since been used as a restaurant and seminar center. Before this renovation, an archaeological investigation of the area was carried out, which revealed a section of the medieval city wall.
Further reading
* Stefan Blank, Markus Hochstrasser: ''Die Kunstdenkmäler des Kantons Solothurn, Band II: Die Stadt Solothurn II: Profanbauten.'' In: ''
Die Kunstdenkmäler der Schweiz'', vol.113. Berne: GSK, 2008 (Chapter: ''Kronengasse 1: Palais Besenval'', p. 178–185)
* Andrea Nold, with contributions by Ylva Backman, Stefan Blank,
Suzanne Frey-Kupper
Suzanne Frey-Kupper (born 1958) is a classical archaeologist and numismatist from Switzerland, who is Professor of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Warwick. She specialises in the study of Greek, Roman and Punic coinage, in parti ...
, Patrick Huber and André Rehazek: ''Archäologische Ausgrabungen im Garten des Palais Besenval in Solothurn: Ein Quartier an der Aare vom Mittelalter bis in die Neuzeit.'' In: ''Beiträge zu Archäologie und Denkmalpflege im Kanton Solothurn.'' Solothurn: Amt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie, 2009.
online
External links
''Die Geschichte des Palais Besenval''
References
{{Authority control
Baroque architecture in Switzerland
Buildings and structures in the canton of Solothurn
Buildings and structures completed in the 1700s
18th-century architecture in Switzerland