The Palais Rohan (Rohan
Palace
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...
) in
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
is the former residence of the
prince-bishops and
cardinals
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
of the
House of Rohan
The House of Rohan ( br, Roc'han) is a Breton people, Breton family of viscounts, later dukes and princes in the French nobility, coming from the locality of Rohan (commune), Rohan in Brittany. Their line descends from the viscounts of Porhoët ...
, an ancient
French noble family originally from
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
. It is a major architectural, historical, and cultural landmark in the city.
It was built next to
Strasbourg Cathedral
Strasbourg Cathedral or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg, or ''Cathédrale de Strasbourg'', german: Liebfrauenmünster zu Straßburg or ''Straßburger Münster''), also known as Strasbourg ...
in the 1730s, from designs by
Robert de Cotte
Robert de Cotte (1656 – 15 July 1735) was a French architect-administrator, under whose design control of the royal buildings of France from 1699, the earliest notes presaging the Rococo style were introduced. First a pupil of Jules Hard ...
, and is considered a masterpiece of
French Baroque architecture
French Baroque architecture, sometimes called French classicism, was a style of architecture during the reigns of Louis XIII (1610–43), Louis XIV (1643–1715) and Louis XV (1715–74). It was preceded by French Renaissance architecture and Man ...
. Since its completion in 1742, the palace has hosted a number of
French monarchs
France was ruled by Monarch, monarchs from the establishment of the West Francia, Kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions.
Classical French historiography usually regards Cl ...
such as
Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...
,
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...
,
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
and
Joséphine, and
Charles X
Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Loui ...
.
Reflecting the history of Strasbourg and of France, the palace has been owned successively by the nobility, the municipality, the monarchy, the state,
the university, and the municipality again. Its architectural conception and its
iconography
Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...
were intended to indicate the return of
Roman Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
to the city, which had been dominated by
Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
for the previous two centuries. Thus the
prelate
A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...
's apartments face the cathedral, to the north, and many of the statues, reliefs and paintings reflect
Catholic dogma
A dogma of the Catholic Church is defined as "a truth revealed by God, which the magisterium of the Church declared as binding." The '' Catechism of the Catholic Church'' states:
Dogma can also pertain to the collective body of the church's d ...
.
Since the end of the 19th century the palace has been home to three of Strasbourg's most important museums: the
Archaeological Museum (''Musée archéologique'', basement), the
Museum of Decorative Arts (''Musée des arts décoratifs'', ground floor) and the
Museum of Fine Arts (''Musée des beaux-arts'', first and second floor). The municipal
art gallery
An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...
, ''Galerie Robert Heitz'', in a lateral wing of the palace, is used for temporary exhibitions. The Palais Rohan has been listed since 1920 as a ''
Monument historique
''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...
'' by the
French Ministry of Culture
The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visual, ...
.
History
Up to 1871
In 1727
Armand Gaston Maximilien de Rohan
Armand de Rohan (Armand Gaston Maximilien; 26 June 1674 – 19 July 1749) was a French churchman and politician. He became Bishop of Strasbourg in 1704, Cardinal in 1712 then Grand Almoner of France in 1713 and member of the regency council ...
, bishop of Strasbourg since 1704 and
cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
since 1712, commissioned the architect
Robert de Cotte
Robert de Cotte (1656 – 15 July 1735) was a French architect-administrator, under whose design control of the royal buildings of France from 1699, the earliest notes presaging the Rococo style were introduced. First a pupil of Jules Hard ...
to design the palace; deCotte provided initial plans the same year.
Seven years prior, in 1720, Cardinal deRohan had already charged deCotte with renovation and embellishment works on his castle in
Saverne
Saverne (french: Saverne, ; Alsatian: ; german: Zabern ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is situated on the Rhine-Marne canal at the foot of a pass over the Vosges Mountains, and 45 km (27& ...
, the predecessor of the current
Rohan Castle Rohan may refer to:
Places
* Rohan, Morbihan, a French commune in Brittany
* Château des Rohan (Mutzig), France
* Żebbuġ, Malta, also known as Città Rohan
** De Rohan Arch, a commemorative arch in Żebbuġ
* Palais Rohan, Bordeaux, France
* P ...
.
DeCotte had also previously designed the
Hôtel du grand Doyenné, the first ''
hôtel particulier
An ''hôtel particulier'' () is a grand townhouse, comparable to the Townhouse (Great Britain), British townhouse or mansion. Whereas an ordinary ''maison'' (house) was built as part of a row, sharing party walls with the houses on either side an ...
'' in
Louis Quinze
The Louis XV style or ''Louis Quinze'' (, ) is a style of architecture and decorative arts which appeared during the reign of Louis XV. From 1710 until about 1730, a period known as the Régence, it was largely an extension of the Louis XIV style ...
style built in Strasbourg. The Palais Rohan was built on the site of the former residence of the bishop, the "bishop's
demesne
A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...
",, shortened to ''Bischofshof'', "bishop's court", also known as "bishop's palace" (german: link=no, bischöfliche Pfalz). which is recorded since at least 1262. The area itself is near the heart of the ancient
Argentoratum
Argentoratum or Argentorate was the ancient name of the city of Strasbourg. The name was first mentioned in 12 BC, when it was a Roman military outpost established by Nero Claudius Drusus. From 90 AD the Legio VIII Augusta was permanently statio ...
, first mentioned in 12BC. Diverse
archaeological excavations
In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...
on ''Place du Château'', the square facing the palace, have unearthed many remains of the Roman camp.
Building work on the Palais Rohan took place from 1732 until 1742 under the supervision of the municipal architect
Joseph Massol, who also worked on the
Hôtel de Hanau
The ''Hôtel de Hanau'', also known as the ''Hôtel de ville'' and (in German) as the ''Hanauer Hof'', is a historic building located on Place Broglie on the Grande Île in the city center of Strasbourg, in the French department of the Bas-Rhin ...
and the
Hôtel de Klinglin
The Hôtel de Klinglin, currently known as the Hôtel du Préfet, is a historic building located near Place Broglie on the Grande Île in the city center of Strasbourg, in the French department of the Bas-Rhin. It has been classified as a Monume ...
during the early years of the project. Massol was assisted by the architects Laurent Gourlade and Étienne LeChevalier. The sculptures, including statues as well as
reliefs, were provided by
Robert Le Lorrain
Robert Le Lorrain (1666–1743) was a French baroque sculptor who was born in Paris. He was born into a family of bureaucrats, the son of Claude Le Lorrain, a business agent of Nicolas Fouquet, Louis XIV of France, Louis XIV's Minister of Financ ...
, assisted by
Johann August Nahl
Johann August Nahl (22 August 1710 in Berlin – 22 October 1781 in Kassel) was a German sculptor and plasterer.
He was first taught by his father Johann Samuel Nahl (1664–1727), who had been court sculptor of Frederic I since 1704. ...
, Gaspard Pollet, and Laurent Leprince, and the paintings by and . The
ébéniste
''Ébéniste'' () is a loanword (from French) for a cabinet-maker, particularly one who works in ebony.
Etymology and ambiguities
As opposed to ''ébéniste'', the term ''menuisier'' denotes a woodcarver or chairmaker in French. The English equiva ...
Bernard Kocke and the
ironwork
Ironwork is any weapon, artwork, utensil, or architectural feature made of iron, especially one used for decoration. There are two main types of ironwork: wrought iron and cast iron. While the use of iron dates as far back as 4000BC, it was th ...
ers and
locksmiths
Locksmithing is the science and art of making and defeating locks. Locksmithing is a traditional trade and in many countries requires completion of an apprenticeship. The level of formal education legally required varies from country to country ...
Jean-François Agon and his son Antoine Agon worked on the furnishings of the apartments, while the
stucco
Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...
was the work of the Italians Castelli and Morsegno.
A budget of 344,000
French livre
The livre (abbreviation: £ or ₶., French for (pound)) was the currency of Kingdom of France and its predecessor state of West Francia from 781 to 1794. Several different livres existed, some concurrently. The livre was the name of coins ...
s had been established for the construction – 200,000 livres lent from the
Cathedral chapter (''Grand Chapitre'') and 144,000 raised as local taxes over a period of twelve years – but the final cost is estimated at one million French livres. The palace is mostly built in yellow
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
from
Wasselonne
Wasselonne (; ) is a Communes of France, commune based in the Bas-Rhin Departments of France, department in north-eastern France, more precisely, in the Grand Est region. The oldest firm of unleavened bread in France: Etablissements René Neymann, ...
,
with pink sandstone for the less visible parts.
The House of Rohan owned the palace until the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, when it was confiscated, declared ''bien national'' ("state owned"), and finally auctioned off on 8August 1791. Bought by the municipality, it became the new
town hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
(''hôtel deville'') the same year, succeeding the
Neubau
Neubau (; Central Bavarian: ''Neibau'') is the seventh district of Vienna (german: 7. Bezirk). It is located near the center of Vienna and was established as a district in 1850, but borders changed later. Neubau is a heavily populated urban area, ...
. Much of the furniture and many of the works of art in the Palais were sold, and in 1793 the eight life-sized mural portraits of prince-bishops decorating the ''Salle des évêques'' (Bishops' Hall) were destroyed. They were replaced in 1796 by allegories of
civic virtue
Civic virtue is the harvesting of habits important for the success of a society. Closely linked to the concept of citizenship, civic virtue is often conceived as the dedication of citizens to the common welfare of each other even at the cost of t ...
s painted by
Joseph Melling
Joseph Melling (27 December 1724, Saint-Avold - 23 December 1796, Strasbourg) was an Alsatian artist who served as court painter for the Margraviate of Baden at Karlsruhe Palace.
Biography
He came from a long-established line of painters, ...
.
Only the portrait of Armand Gaston, the builder of the palace, was later restored to its original place with a 1982 replica of
Hyacinthe Rigaud
Jacint Rigau-Ros i Serra (; 18 July 1659 – 29 December 1743), known in French as Hyacinthe Rigaud (), was a Catalan-French baroque painter most famous for his portraits of Louis XIV and other members of the French nobility.
Biography
Rigaud ...
's lost painting. Melling also replaced the
overdoor
An "overdoor" (or "Supraporte" as in German, or "sopraporte" as in Italian) is a painting, bas-relief or decorative panel, generally in a horizontal format, that is set, typically within ornamental mouldings, over a door, or was originally intend ...
portraits of kings of France, decorating the same room with paintings of vases.
[Martin, p. 221, note 86.]
The Palais Rohan remained the ''hôtel de ville'' until 1805. That year, the municipality presented it to
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
, who returned the Hôtel deHanau in exchange. Like the palace, the hôtel had been state-owned since the Revolution. The 1805 arrangement proved favourable for the municipality: the maintenance of the Hôtel deHanau was less costly than that of the larger Palais Rohan. It pleased Napoleon, for whom the palace was the more conspicuous display of grandeur. As for the palace, imperial ownership meant renewed splendour. The present to Napoleon was officially accepted by decree on 21January 1806;
the interiors were then refurbished by the architect
Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine
Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine (; 20 September 1762 – 10 October 1853) was a neoclassical French architect, interior decorator and designer.
Life and work
Starting in 1794 Fontaine worked in such close partnership with Charles Percier, o ...
.
In the years before the
Franco-Prussian War and the return of Alsace to Germany, the Palais Rohan was the property of the French state, which was
in turn an
empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
, a
kingdom
Kingdom commonly refers to:
* A monarchy ruled by a king or queen
* Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy
Kingdom may also refer to:
Arts and media Television
* ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...
, a
monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...
, a
republic
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
, and again an
empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
.
Since 1871
![Palais épiscopal de Strasbourg-1744](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Palais_%C3%A9piscopal_de_Strasbourg-1744.jpg)
The year 1871 signified the end of French rule and the beginning of German rule over Alsace, which had until 1681 been linked to Germany through the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
. Having lost the Franco-Prussian War, France had to cede the
departments of
Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin (; Alsatian: ''Unterelsàss'', ' or '; traditional german: links=no, Niederrhein; en, Lower Rhine) is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est super-region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its low ...
,
Haut-Rhin
Haut-Rhin (, ; Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; german: Oberelsass, ) is a department in the Grand Est region of France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine. Its name means ''Upper Rhine''. Haut-Rhin is the ...
, and
Moselle
The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...
(the territory also known as
Alsace-Lorraine, or ''Elsass-Lothringen'' in German) to the newly created
German Empire
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
. Now under new administration and having lost its residential purpose, the Palais Rohan had to be assigned a new role. Between 1872 and 1884, until the opening of the
Palais universitaire, it was used by the newly established ''Kaiser-Wilhelms-Universität'', the Imperial German version of the
University of Strasbourg
The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers.
The French university traces its history to the ea ...
, as the seat of the
faculties of law, philosophy, and sciences. The palace then served as the university's library until the opening of the
National and University Library
The National and University Library (french: Bibliothèque nationale et universitaire; abbreviated BNU) is a public library in Strasbourg, France. It is located on Place de la République, the former ''Kaiserplatz'', and faces the ''Palais du ...
in 1895. After this, the palace again became the property of the city and was adapted to receive the municipal art collections that were being built up again by director
Wilhelm von Bode
Wilhelm von Bode (10 December 1845 – 1 March 1929) was a German art historian and museum curator. Born Arnold Wilhelm Bode in Calvörde, he was ennobled in 1913. He was the creator and first curator of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum, now calle ...
after their total destruction during the
Siege of Strasbourg
The siege of Strasbourg took place during the Franco-Prussian War, and resulted in the French surrender of the fortress on 28 September 1870.
After the German victory at Wörth, troops from the Grand Duchy of Baden under Prussian General Aug ...
(see below,
Musée des beaux-arts). The first section of the new ''Kunstmuseum der Stadt Strassburg'', established in 1898, was inaugurated in 1899.
After the return of Alsace to French rule in 1918, the new director of the ''Musée des beaux-arts'' and the ''Musée des arts décoratifs'',
Hans Haug (1890–1965), put major efforts into presenting the Palais Rohan as a coherent whole again.
Strasbourg suffered during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and on 11August 1944 the palace was damaged by British and American bombs. After the war, restoration measures were soon undertaken under the supervision of the architects Robert Danis (1879–1949) and Bertrand Monnet (1910–1989), but in 1947 a fire broke out and devastated a significant part of the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts. This fire was an indirect consequence of the bombing raids: because of the destruction inflicted on the palace, the building had suffered from damp, which was treated with
welding torches, and poor handling of these caused the fire.
Rebuilding and refurbishing the palace took until well into the 1950s, with full restoration not completed until the 1990s. In 1989 a large
trompe-l'œil
''Trompe-l'œil'' ( , ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface. ''Trompe l'oeil'', which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into ...
fresco
Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
depicting the Roman goddess
Ceres
Ceres most commonly refers to:
* Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid
* Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture
Ceres may also refer to:
Places
Brazil
* Ceres, Goiás, Brazil
* Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás ...
was rediscovered behind layers of plaster and white paint in the former dining hall, the eastern wing of the Synod Hall (see below,
Apartments
An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are man ...
). It is thought to have been concealed under Napoleonic ownership, and had been forgotten since.
Notable guests
![Strasbourg rohan salon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Strasbourg_rohan_salon.JPG)
King
Louis XV of France
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...
stayed in the palace from 5 to 10October 1744.
Maria Josepha of Saxony, Dauphine of France
Maria Josepha Karolina Eleonore Franziska Xaveria of Saxony (4 November 1731 – 13 March 1767) was Dauphine of France through her marriage to Louis, the son and heir of Louis XV. Marie Josèphe was the mother of three kings of France, Louis ...
, spent two nights in the palace from 27 to 29January 1747. Queen
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...
spent her first night on French soil there on 7 to 8May 1770. In 1805, 1806, and 1809 Emperor
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
spent several nights in the palace; his wife, Empress
Josephine stayed for longer periods, from September 1805 until January 1806 (
Battle of Austerlitz
The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important and decisive engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near the town of Austerlitz in ...
), and from May until July 1809 (Battles of
Aspern-Essling and of
Battle of Wagram
The Battle of Wagram (; 5–6 July 1809) was a military engagement of the Napoleonic Wars that ended in a costly but decisive victory for Emperor Napoleon's French and allied army against the Austrian army under the command of Archduke Charles ...
).
[Martin, p. 190.][Martin, p. 219.]
Napoleon's second wife, Empress
Marie Louise Marie Louise or Marie-Louise may refer to:
People
*Marie Louise of Orléans (1662–1689), daughter of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, queen consort of Charles II of Spain
*Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel (1688–1765), daughter of Charles I, Landgrave ...
, spent her first nights on French soil in the palace, from 22 to 25March 1810; she came from
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
like Marie-Antoinette. Other royal French guests were
Charles X
Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Loui ...
, on 7 and 8September 1828, and
Louis Philippe I
Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France.
As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...
from 18 to 21June 1831.
In the early 20th century, the sculptor
Ringel d′Illzach used one of the rooms of the palace as an
atelier
An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or v ...
. After World War II, the first great
art exhibition
An art exhibition is traditionally the space in which art objects (in the most general sense) meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is rarely true, it is stated to be a "permanent exhib ...
in the palace, "''L'Alsace française 1648–1948''", was inaugurated on 13June 1948 by
Jean de Lattre de Tassigny
Jean Joseph Marie Gabriel de Lattre de Tassigny (2 February 1889 – 11 January 1952) was a French général d'armée during World War II and the First Indochina War. He was posthumously elevated to the dignity of Marshal of France in 1952.
As ...
, one of the chief artisans of the Liberation of Alsace (1944–45).
On 8 May 1985, American President
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
dined in the Palace and signed the official Strasbourg guestbook, on the occasion of his visit to the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
. In December 1989, the Palais Rohan hosted the dinner parties of the heads of state of the
European Council
The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union. It is composed of the heads of state or government of the EU member states, the President of the E ...
, including
François Mitterrand
François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...
,
Helmut Kohl
Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998. Kohl's 16-year tenure is the longes ...
,
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...
,
Giulio Andreotti
Giulio Andreotti ( , ; 14 January 1919 – 6 May 2013) was an Italian politician and statesman who served as the 41st prime minister of Italy in seven governments (1972–1973, 1976–1979, and 1989–1992) and leader of the Christian Democra ...
and
Felipe González
Felipe González Márquez (; born 5 March 1942) is a Spanish lawyer, professor, and politician, who was the Secretary-General of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) from 1974 to 1997, and the 3rd Prime Minister of Spain since the ...
. Twenty years later, before the
2009 Strasbourg–Kehl summit, it was the site of a meeting between French President
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012.
Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...
and his American counterpart
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
as well as their wives
and
Michelle Obama
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...
. In the 21st century, the palace was the setting for the official dinner for the
2016 Fed Cup
The 2016 Fed Cup was the 54th edition of the most important tournament between national teams in women's tennis. The final took place on 12–13 November and was won by the Czech Republic for the third year in a row, and for the fifth time in six ...
finalists, the gala dinners for the 20th and the 25th anniversary of
Eurimages
Eurimages is a cultural support fund of the Council of Europe, established in 1989. Eurimages promotes independent filmmaking by providing financial support to feature-length fiction, animation, and documentary films. In doing so, it encourages c ...
, as well as other festive receptions, since it can be booked for such occasions from the municipality.
Structure
The palace is structured around a large and paved courtyard. It has a
trapezoid
A quadrilateral with at least one pair of parallel sides is called a trapezoid () in American and Canadian English. In British and other forms of English, it is called a trapezium ().
A trapezoid is necessarily a Convex polygon, convex quadri ...
al plan, and the land falls away toward the river
Ill ILL may refer to:
* '' I Love Lucy'', a landmark American television sitcom
* Illorsuit Heliport (location identifier: ILL), a heliport in Illorsuit, Greenland
* Institut Laue–Langevin, an internationally financed scientific facility
* Interlibra ...
.
To compensate for the slope, the riverside (southern) façade of the main wing has four floors (including the
Mansard roof
A mansard or mansard roof (also called a French roof or curb roof) is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope, punctured by dormer windows, at a steeper angle than the upper. The ...
), while the courtyard (northern) façade has three floors. The half-buried floor corresponds to the basement and now houses the archaeological museum (see below,
Museums
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...
). The riverside façade is thus both the highest and the widest of the palace. The terrace before it, facing the ''quai des Bateliers'', is closed at both ends by elaborate
wrought-iron
Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a wood-like "grain" t ...
gates adorned with the coat of arms of the House of Rohan.
The riverside façade is formed by the main residential bulk and the library wing on the west side, which offers a contrast in shape and design, notably through its single, very large window. The main part of the façade is symmetrically arranged around an
avant-corps
An ''avant-corps'' ( it, avancorpo or , plural , german: Risalit, pl, ryzalit), a French term literally meaning "fore-body", is a part of a building, such as a porch or pavilion, that juts out from the ''corps de logis'', often taller than othe ...
of four
columns
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression membe ...
with
Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to:
*Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible:
**First Epistle to the Corinthians
**Second Epistle to the Corinthians
**Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox)
*A demonym relating to ...
capitals. The avant-corps is crowned with a voluminous
triangular
A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC.
In Euclidean geometry, any three points, when non- collinea ...
pediment
Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape.
Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds.
A pedimen ...
, again adorned with the coat of arms of the House of Rohan, while the library wing is crowned with a
semicircular
In mathematics (and more specifically geometry), a semicircle is a one-dimensional locus of points that forms half of a circle. The full arc of a semicircle always measures 180° (equivalently, radians, or a half-turn). It has only one line of ...
pediment. That pediment was originally surmounted by two copper statues of angels, now lost. The library wing was not part of the original 1727 plan but was conceived in 1733, after the cardinal bought up and demolished a row of houses on the current ''rue de Rohan''. The architect,
Robert de Cotte
Robert de Cotte (1656 – 15 July 1735) was a French architect-administrator, under whose design control of the royal buildings of France from 1699, the earliest notes presaging the Rococo style were introduced. First a pupil of Jules Hard ...
, was thus able to distribute the interior spaces of the residential bulk on an even grander and also more practical plan, notably putting the main staircase to the left (east) of the apartment wing instead of the centre.
The courtyard façade of the main wing, in the same
classical style
Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect V ...
as its counterpart facing the Ill,
is narrower. A strong emphasis is put on the verticality of the windows, by which means the impression of height is accentuated. Again, a central avant-corps is crowned with a triangular pediment bearing
reliefs and in this case also statues. Both façades are richly decorated with
allegorical
As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...
mascarons (depicting seasons,
temperaments, continents and
elements), eighteen in all on the riverside façade and nine in all on the courtyard façade,
to which the riverside façade adds a pair of broad wrought-iron balconies. Due to the difference in width and the trapezoidal plan, the centres of the façades are not aligned.
The courtyard is divided in three sections separated by a row of
arch
An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it.
Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...
es. The left section (as seen from the
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
) belongs to the ''Communs'' wing, which housed the servants. The right section belongs to the
stable
A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...
s wing. Left and right of the façade are
exedra
An exedra (plural: exedras or exedrae) is a semicircular architectural recess or platform, sometimes crowned by a semi-dome, and either set into a building's façade or free-standing. The original Greek sense (''ἐξέδρα'', a seat out of d ...
s decorated with
busts of
Roman emperors. The entrance to the palace is through the left exedra. Facing the courtyard façade is a
peristyle
In ancient Greek and Roman architecture, a peristyle (; from Greek ) is a continuous porch formed by a row of columns surrounding the perimeter of a building or a courtyard. Tetrastoön ( grc, τετράστῳον or τετράστοον, lit=fou ...
with five arches. The central arch, the highest and widest, faces the centre of the façade and opens on the palace's main gate.
The front of the palace on ''Place du Château'' (called ''Place del'Évêché'' between 1740 and 1793), designed in a more
Baroque style
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
than the rest of the palace, is wide and curved. The central gate is framed by two pairs of columns and juts out in the shape of a
Triumphal arch
A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, crow ...
. The upper part of the front section is crowned with statues representing
allegories of faith such as "Religion" and "
Eucharist
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
", and personifications of
Christian virtues such as "
Mercy
Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French ''merci'', from Medieval Latin ''merced-'', ''merces'', from Latin, "price paid, wages", from ''merc-'', ''merxi'' "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, relig ...
" and "
Penance
Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of Repentance (theology), repentance for Christian views on sin, sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic Church, Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox s ...
".
Plaster cast
A plaster cast is a copy made in plaster of another 3-dimensional form. The original from which the cast is taken may be a sculpture, building, a face, a pregnant belly, a fossil or other remains such as fresh or fossilised footprints – p ...
s of some of these statues are displayed in the
lapidarium
A lapidarium is a place where stone (Latin: ) monuments and fragments of archaeological interest are exhibited.
They can include stone epigraphy, epigraphs; statues; architectural elements such as columns, cornices, and acroterions; bas reliefs ...
inside the
Barrage Vauban
The ''Barrage Vauban'', or Vauban Dam, is a bridge, weir and defensive work erected in the 17th century on the River Ill in the city of Strasbourg in France. At that time, it was known as the Great Lock (''grande écluse''), although it does not ...
. The wooden
portal
Portal often refers to:
* Portal (architecture), an opening in a wall of a building, gate or fortification, or the extremities (ends) of a tunnel
Portal may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Gaming
* ''Portal'' (series), two video games ...
(
oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
) and the walls east and west of the gate are decorated with trophies and
heraldic symbols relating to the House of Rohan and the
episcopal polity
An episcopal polity is a Hierarchy, hierarchical form of Ecclesiastical polity, church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") in which the chief local authorities are called bishops. (The word "bishop" derives, via the British Latin and Vulgar ...
. The two
pavilion
In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings:
* It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...
s connecting the ''Communs'' and the stable wings with the gate section are decorated with sixteen mascarons representing male and female
Old Testament prophets
Nevi'im (; he, נְבִיאִים ''Nəvīʾīm'', Tiberian: ''Năḇīʾīm,'' "Prophets", literally "spokespersons") is the second major division of the Hebrew Bible (the ''Tanakh''), lying between the Torah (instruction) and Ketuvim (wri ...
,
and with crescent-shaped pediments, in contrast to the triangular pediments of the façades. The east (left) pavilion housed the palace's kitchens while the west (right) pavilion housed the offices of the
ecclesiastical court
An ecclesiastical court, also called court Christian or court spiritual, is any of certain courts having jurisdiction mainly in spiritual or religious matters. In the Middle Ages, these courts had much wider powers in many areas of Europe than be ...
.
Exterior views
Strasbourg place du Château Palais Rohan octobre 2013 07.jpg, Entrance of the palace
Palais Rohan Strasbourg France Gates April 2010.JPG, The main portal
Palais Rohan Strasbourg Inner Court 1 April 2010.JPG, Façade facing the inner courtyard
Strasbourg PalaisRohan 09.JPG, Pediment
Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape.
Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds.
A pedimen ...
with coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
of the courtyard façade
Strasbourg, Rohan Palace, main courtyard; Cathedral.jpg, View from the main courtyard towards the entrance and the Cathedral
Straßburg Palais Rohan 09.jpg, Façade facing the river
Sculpture on façade facing River Ill, Palais Rohan de Strasbourg.jpg, A mascaron depicting Cybele
Cybele ( ; Phrygian: ''Matar Kubileya/Kubeleya'' "Kubileya/Kubeleya Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Lydian ''Kuvava''; el, Κυβέλη ''Kybele'', ''Kybebe'', ''Kybelis'') is an Anatolian mother goddess; she may have a possible forer ...
on the riverside façade
Strasbourg PalaisRohan n05.jpg, Detail of a wrought iron
Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag Inclusion (mineral), inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a ...
balcony
Apartments
![Décoration](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/D%C3%A9coration_%22rocaille%22%2C_Palais_Rohan%2C_Strasbourg.jpg)
The apartments on the ''
piano nobile
The ''piano nobile'' (Italian for "noble floor" or "noble level", also sometimes referred to by the corresponding French term, ''bel étage'') is the principal floor of a palazzo. This floor contains the main reception and bedrooms of the hou ...
'' today form a part of the ''
Musée des arts décoratifs''.
The chambers of the prince-bishops and cardinals of the
House of Rohan
The House of Rohan ( br, Roc'han) is a Breton people, Breton family of viscounts, later dukes and princes in the French nobility, coming from the locality of Rohan (commune), Rohan in Brittany. Their line descends from the viscounts of Porhoët ...
are divided into the ''grand appartement'' (display space, facing the river, or south) and ''petit appartement'' (living space, facing the inner court and the cathedral, or north), as in the
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 19 ...
. On either side of the suites are the two most spacious rooms of the palace, the
Synod
A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...
Hall (a single, vast room composed of the dining hall and the guards' hall, separated by a row of arches) and the library, which both extend over the entire longitudinal axis of the wing. The library also serves as the
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
of the palace's very small chapel. The ''grand appartement'' is composed of the ''Salle des évêques'' (Bishops' Hall) – the former ''
Antichambre du roi'' – the ''Chambre du roi'' (Bedchamber of the King), the ''Cabinet du roi'' (
Cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
of the King), also known as the ''Salon d'assemblée'' (
Assembly Room
In Great Britain and Ireland, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, assembly rooms were gathering places for members of the higher social classes open to members of both sexes. At that time most entertaining was done at home and there were ...
) and the ''Garde-robe du roi'' (
Cloakroom
A cloakroom, or sometimes coatroom, is a room for people to hang their coats, cloaks or other outerwear when they enter a building. Cloakrooms are typically found inside large buildings, such as gymnasiums, schools, churches or meeting halls.
...
of the King). The "petit appartement" is composed of the ''Antichambre du prince-évêque'', the ''Chambre du prince-évêque'', the ''Cabinet du prince-évêque'' (turned into ''Napoleons bedchamber after 1800) and the ''Garde-robe du prince-évêque''. The castle's
garderobe
Garderobe is a historic term for a room in a medieval castle. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' gives as its first meaning a store-room for valuables, but also acknowledges "by extension, a private room, a bed-chamber; also a privy".
The word der ...
(''Cabinet de commodités'') is situated next to the cloakroom of the prince-bishop. The interiors were designed according to the decorative principles established by
Jacques-François Blondel
Jacques-François Blondel (8 January 1705 – 9 January 1774) was an 18th-century French architect and teacher. After running his own highly successful school of architecture for many years, he was appointed Professor of Architecture at the Acad ...
in his influential book ''De la distribution des maisons de plaisance et de la décoration des édifices en général'' (1738), and the stucco and
boiseries
Panelling (or paneling in the U.S.) is a millwork wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials.
Panelling was developed in antiquity to make roo ...
were influenced by the style of
Nicolas Pineau
Nicolas Pineau (1684–1754) was a French carver and ornamental designer, one of the leaders who initiated the exuberant style of the French ''rocaille'' or Rococo. He worked in St. Petersburg and Paris.
Pineau, the son of the carver Jean-Baptist ...
.
[Martin, p. 184.]
Many of the original furnishings were sold in the wake of the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
. Some works of art, including the
overdoor
An "overdoor" (or "Supraporte" as in German, or "sopraporte" as in Italian) is a painting, bas-relief or decorative panel, generally in a horizontal format, that is set, typically within ornamental mouldings, over a door, or was originally intend ...
s from the ''Salle des évêques'', part of the municipal collections, were destroyed with the museum situated in the
Aubette when the
Prussian Army
The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power.
The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...
shelled the city during the
Siege of Strasbourg
The siege of Strasbourg took place during the Franco-Prussian War, and resulted in the French surrender of the fortress on 28 September 1870.
After the German victory at Wörth, troops from the Grand Duchy of Baden under Prussian General Aug ...
in 1870.
In the 20th century and especially during the reconstruction following the bomb damage of August 1944, a great deal of effort went into locating the surviving missing objects and replacing the lost works with identical or similar pieces. They were supervised by the aforementioned Hans Haug, who had become director of the newly created network of the municipal museums on 1January 1945. Some elements, though, were never restored, such as the stucco of the library. It was lost in 1817 because of
leak
A leak is a way (usually an opening) for fluid to escape a container or fluid-containing system, such as a tank or a ship's hull, through which the contents of the container can escape or outside matter can enter the container. Leaks are usuall ...
s through the ceiling; as the only free-standing part of the building, the library has a flat roof.
Among the works of art on view in the apartments, several stand out for their artistic and historic value. The set of eight (originally nine)
tapestries
Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...
depicting "
The History of Constantine" was woven around 1624 after
modello
A modello (plural modelli), from Italian, is a preparatory study or model, usually at a smaller scale, for a work of art or architecture, especially one produced for the approval of the commissioning patron. The term gained currency in art circl ...
s by
Rubens. It had been commissioned by
Louis XIII of France
Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...
, who later presented it to the
Marquis of Cinq-Mars. Three tapestries are displayed in the ''Chambre du roi'', one in the ''Cabinet du roi'', and four in the library. The set of eight 17th-century Italian busts of Roman emperors in the ''Salle des évêques'' belonged to the personal collection of
Cardinal Mazarin
Cardinal Jules Mazarin (, also , , ; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino () or Mazarini, was an Italian cardinal, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Louis XIII and Louis X ...
. Both sets of works were bought in 1738 from the respective heirs by
Armand Gaston deRohan.
Another bust of particular value is the
marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...
portrait of Armand Gaston, sculpted in 1730–1731 in Rome by
Edmé Bouchardon
Edmé Bouchardon (; 29 May 169827 July 1762) was a French sculptor best known for his neoclassical statues in the gardens of the Palace of Versailles, his medals, his equestrian statue of Louis XV of France for the Place de la Concorde (destroy ...
.
It is also displayed in the library. The floor of the chapel is partly covered with a 1745 imitation of a
Turkish carpet
Anatolian rug is a term of convenience, commonly used today to denote rugs and carpets woven in Anatolia and its adjacent regions. Geographically, its area of production can be compared to the territories which were historically dominated by the ...
, woven in the
Aubusson manufactory and bearing in its centre the
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
of Armand Gaston deRohan.
The carpet covering the large table in the middle of the library was woven in
Portuguese India
The State of India ( pt, Estado da Índia), also referred as the Portuguese State of India (''Estado Português da Índia'', EPI) or simply Portuguese India (), was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded six years after the discovery of a se ...
around 1730. It was given to the Cathedral chapter after 1806 and sold to the
Musée de Cluny
The Musée de Cluny ("Cluny Museum", ), also known as Musée national du Moyen Âge – Thermes et hôtel de Cluny ("National Museum of the Middle Ages – Cluny thermal baths and mansion"), is a museum of the Middle Ages in Paris, Fr ...
in 1865 but was returned to the city of Strasbourg on permanent loan in 1939.
On display in most of the rooms are surviving works from
Louis René deRohan's vast collection of
Japanese vases and
Chinese pottery
Chinese ceramics show a continuous development since pre-dynastic times and are one of the most significant forms of Chinese art and ceramics globally. The first pottery was made during the Palaeolithic era. Chinese ceramics range from construc ...
and
lacquerware
Lacquerware are objects decoratively covered with lacquer. Lacquerware includes small or large containers, tableware, a variety of small objects carried by people, and larger objects such as furniture and even coffins painted with lacquer. Befor ...
from the
Ming
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
and
Qing
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...
dynasties, originally destined for the
new castle in
Saverne
Saverne (french: Saverne, ; Alsatian: ; german: Zabern ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is situated on the Rhine-Marne canal at the foot of a pass over the Vosges Mountains, and 45 km (27& ...
. A
curio cabinet
A curio cabinet is a specialised type of display case, made predominantly of glass with a metal or wood framework, for presenting collections of curios, like figurines or other interesting objects that invoke curiosity, and perhaps share a co ...
in the ''Garde-robe du prince-évêque'' displays dessert
tableware
Tableware is any dish or dishware used for setting a table, serving food, and dining. It includes cutlery, List of glassware, glassware, serving dishes, and other items for practical as well as decorative purposes. The quality, nature, variet ...
from the
Manufacture de Sèvres, made in 1772–1774 for Louis-René deRohan's special embassy in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
. These items now belong to the ''Musée des arts décoratifs''.
[Martin, p. 211.]
A pair of large canvases with hunting dogs by
Jean-Baptiste Oudry
Jean-Baptiste Oudry (; 17 March 1686 – 30 April 1755) was a French Rococo painter, engraver, and tapestry designer. He is particularly well known for his naturalistic pictures of animals and his hunt pieces depicting game. His son, Jacques-Ch ...
(1742), now hanging in the ''Salle du synode'', once hung in the Parisian ''
hôtel particulier
An ''hôtel particulier'' () is a grand townhouse, comparable to the Townhouse (Great Britain), British townhouse or mansion. Whereas an ordinary ''maison'' (house) was built as part of a row, sharing party walls with the houses on either side an ...
'' of
Samuel-Jacques Bernard.
[ The three paintings in the chapel are copies of works by ]Antonio da Correggio
Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Italian Renaissance, who was responsible for some of the most vigorous and sens ...
: '' Adoration of the Shepherds'', '' Virgin and Child with Sts Jerome and Madeleine'', and '' The Rest on the Return from Egypt''. They were made in 1724 in Modena
Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...
and Parma
Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...
by Robert deSéry (1686–1733) for Armand Gaston, whom he had met in Rome the same year. DeSéry would later provide many other paintings for the cardinal's apartments, all of them copies of paintings by greater masters. Napoleon's green bed is an authentic work by Jacob-Desmalter.
The red canopy bed
A canopy bed is a bed with a canopy, which is usually hung with bed curtains. Functionally, the canopy and curtains keep the bed warmer, and screen it from light and sight. On more expensive beds, they may also be elaborately ornamental.
History ...
in the King's bedchamber is a 1989 copy of a bed kept in the Château d'Azay-le-Rideau
The Château d'Azay-le-Rideau () is located in the town of Azay-le-Rideau in the French département of Indre-et-Loire. Built between 1518 and 1527, this château is considered one of the foremost examples of early French renaissance architecture. ...
, thought to be very similar to the lost original. The portraits of kings Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Vers ...
and Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...
of France in the library are copies made in 1950 of originals by Hyacinthe Rigaud
Jacint Rigau-Ros i Serra (; 18 July 1659 – 29 December 1743), known in French as Hyacinthe Rigaud (), was a Catalan-French baroque painter most famous for his portraits of Louis XIV and other members of the French nobility.
Biography
Rigaud ...
kept in the Palace of Versailles. These 20th-century copies are replacements for the 18th-century copies of the same paintings that were destroyed during the French Revolution at the same time as the portraits of the prince-bishops in the Bishops' Hall (see above, History
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
). The overdoor paintings in the antechamber of the prince-bishop are also 20th-century copies, replacing 18th-century copies of French Baroque masters such as Antoine Coypel
Antoine Coypel (11 April 16617 January 1722) was a French painter, pastellist, engraver, decorative designer and draughtsman.[Charles Le Brun
Charles Le Brun (baptised 24 February 1619 – 12 February 1690) was a French painter, physiognomist, art theorist, and a director of several art schools of his time. As court painter to Louis XIV, who declared him "the greatest French artist of ...]
, and Charles de La Fosse
Charles de La Fosse (or Lafosse; 15 June 1636 – 13 December 1716) was a French painter born in Paris.
Life
He was one of the most noted and least servile pupils of Le Brun, under whose direction he shared in the chief of the great decorativ ...
, that were destroyed in 1944. These paintings represent biblical stories
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
; the lost first copies were made in 1737–1740 in Versailles. The other paintings on the walls belong to the ''Musée des beaux-arts'', including ''Louis XV offrant la Paix à L'Europe'' ("Louis XV presenting Peace to Europe", 1737) by François Lemoyne
François Lemoyne or François Le Moine (; 1688 – 4 June 1737) was a French rococo
Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which co ...
, on display in the ''Garde-robe du prince-évêque'', and ''La déification d'Énée'' ("The Deification
Apotheosis (, ), also called divinization or deification (), is the glorification of a subject to divine levels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in the likeness of a deity. The term has ...
of Aeneas
In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...
", 1749) by Jean II Restout
Jean II Restout (26 March 1692 – 1 January 1768) was a French painter, whose late baroque classicism rendered his altarpieces, such as the ''Death of Saint Scholastica'' an "isolated achievement" that ran counter to his rococo contemporaries.M ...
, on display in the ''Chambre du prince-évêque''.
Interior views
Palais Rohan, Strasbourg (France).jpg, Synod
A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...
hall
Strasbourg rohan chambre roi.jpg, Canopy bed in the King's bedchamber
Strasbourg Palais Rohan (18).JPG, Chinese ceramics
Chinese ceramics show a continuous development since pre-dynastic times and are one of the most significant forms of Chinese art and ceramics globally. The first pottery was made during the Palaeolithic era. Chinese ceramics range from construc ...
in the King's bedchamber
Strasbourg, Palais Rohan, tapisserie dans la bibliothèque (4).JPG, Tapestry from " The History of Constantine" in the library
Strassburg 5917.jpg, Bedchamber of Napoleon in the Empire style
The Empire style (, ''style Empire'') is an early-nineteenth-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts, representing the second phase of Neoclassicism. It flourished between 1800 and 1815 durin ...
Strassburg 5922.jpg, 18th-century pedal harp
The pedal harp (also known as the concert harp) is a large and technologically modern harp, designed primarily for use in art music. It may be played solo, as part of a chamber ensemble, or in an orchestra. It typically has 47 strings with seve ...
in the Prince-bishop's bedchamber
Strassburg 5923.jpg, 18th-century cocklestove
A masonry heater (also called a masonry stove) is a device for warming an interior space through radiant heating, by capturing the heat from periodic burning of fuel (usually wood), and then radiating the heat at a fairly constant temperature ...
in the Prince-bishop's antechamber
Détail du salon des évêques du Palais des Rohans, à Strasbourg.jpg, Vases from China and a 17th-century bust
Bust commonly refers to:
* A woman's breasts
* Bust (sculpture), of head and shoulders
* An arrest
Bust may also refer to:
Places
* Bust, Bas-Rhin, a city in France
*Lashkargah, Afghanistan, known as Bust historically
Media
* ''Bust'' (magazin ...
of Septimius Severus
Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa (Roman province), Africa. As a young man he advanced thro ...
from the Mazarin collection in the Bishop's hall
Strasbourg, Palais Rohan, nature morte n°1 de la salle du Synode.JPG, Painting by Jean-Baptiste Oudry (1742) in the Synod hall
Strasbourg, Palais Rohan, grand cabinet 17ème siècle (2).JPG, 1660s cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
from Florence, Italy
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
in the Prince-bishop's antechamber
Museums
Musée des beaux-arts
The ''Musée des beaux-arts'' (Museum of Fine Arts), on the first and second floors of the palace, is the successor of the ''Musée de peinture et de sculpture'' (Museum of painting and sculpture), established in 1803 and entirely destroyed by Prussian
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...
artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
shelling and the subsequent violent fire during the night of 24–25August 1870. The new museum was opened in 1899. The collections present an overview of European art
The art of Europe, or Western art, encompasses the history of art, history of visual art in Europe. European prehistoric art started as mobile Upper Paleolithic rock art, rock and cave painting and petroglyph art and was characteristic of the ...
from the 13th century to 1871, with considerable weight given to Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
as well as Flemish and Dutch paintings, with artists such as Hans Memling
Hans Memling (also spelled Memlinc; c. 1430 – 11 August 1494) was a painter active in Flanders, who worked in the tradition of Early Netherlandish painting. He was born in the Middle Rhine region and probably spent his childhood in Mainz. He ...
, Correggio
Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Italian Renaissance, who was responsible for some of the most vigorous and sens ...
, Anthony van Dyck
Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy.
The seventh c ...
, Giotto
Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto ( , ) and Latinised as Giottus, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the Gothic/Proto-Renaissance period. Giot ...
, Pieter de Hooch
Pieter de Hooch (, also spelled "Hoogh" or "Hooghe"; 20 December 1629 (baptized) – 24 March 1684 (buried)) was a Dutch Golden Age painter famous for his genre works of quiet domestic scenes with an open doorway. He was a contemporary of ...
, Botticelli
Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), known as Sandro Botticelli (, ), was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 19th century, when he was rediscovered ...
, Jacob Jordaens
Jacob (Jacques) Jordaens (19 May 1593 – 18 October 1678) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman and tapestry designer known for his history paintings, genre scenes and portraits. After Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck, he was the leading Fle ...
, and Tintoretto
Tintoretto ( , , ; born Jacopo Robusti; late September or early October 1518Bernari and de Vecchi 1970, p. 83.31 May 1594) was an Italian painter identified with the Venetian school. His contemporaries both admired and criticized the speed with ...
, among many others. The collections of Upper Rhenish art until 1681 ( Baldung, Hemmel, Stoskopff, Witz, and others) had been moved into the dedicated Musée de l'Œuvre Notre-Dame in 1931.
Musée des arts décoratifs
The ''Musée des arts décoratifs'' (Museum of Decorative arts
]
The decorative arts are arts or crafts whose object is the design and manufacture of objects that are both beautiful and functional. It includes most of the arts making objects for the interiors of buildings, and interior design, but not usual ...
) is on the ground floor. It was established in its current form in the years 1920–1924, when the collections of the ''Kunstgewerbe-Museum Hohenlohe'', originally established in 1887, were relocated in the stables wing adjacent to the Palais Rohan, Strasbourg#The apartments, palace apartments. The collections had previously been in the Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
former municipal slaughterhouse
A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility.
Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...
''Grandes Boucheries'' or ''Große Metzig'', which now hosts the Musée historique de Strasbourg.) The ''Musée des arts décoratifs'' suffered in the World War II bombing raids of 1944 but the building has since been restored and the collections replenished. Besides the furniture and decoration of the cardinals' apartments, the collections focus on the local production of porcelain ( Strasbourg faience), silver-gilt
Silver-gilt or gilded/gilt silver, sometimes known in American English by the French term vermeil, is silver (either pure or sterling) which has been gilded with gold. Most large objects made in goldsmithing that appear to be gold are actually ...
, and clockmaking
A clockmaker is an artisan who makes and/or repairs clocks. Since almost all clocks are now factory-made, most modern clockmakers only repair clocks. Modern clockmakers may be employed by jewellers, antique shops, and places devoted strictly t ...
, with original parts of the medieval Strasbourg astronomical clock including the automaton
An automaton (; plural: automata or automatons) is a relatively self-operating machine, or control mechanism designed to automatically follow a sequence of operations, or respond to predetermined instructions.Automaton – Definition and More ...
rooster
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...
from 1354. The reconstructed living room of a former ''hôtel particulier
An ''hôtel particulier'' () is a grand townhouse, comparable to the Townhouse (Great Britain), British townhouse or mansion. Whereas an ordinary ''maison'' (house) was built as part of a row, sharing party walls with the houses on either side an ...
'', the 1750s Hôtel Oesinger, displays 18th-century furniture ''in situ
''In situ'' (; often not italicized in English) is a Latin phrase that translates literally to "on site" or "in position." It can mean "locally", "on site", "on the premises", or "in place" to describe where an event takes place and is used in ...
'' on a more intimate scale than the rooms of the palace.
Musée archéologique
The ''Musée archéologique'' (Archaeological Museum) is in the basement. The former archaeological collections of the city had been entirely destroyed, along with the municipal library, during the Siege of Strasbourg
The siege of Strasbourg took place during the Franco-Prussian War, and resulted in the French surrender of the fortress on 28 September 1870.
After the German victory at Wörth, troops from the Grand Duchy of Baden under Prussian General Aug ...
in 1870. A new collection was started in 1876 on behalf of the "Society for the preservation of the historical monuments of Alsace" (french: link=no, Société pour la conservation des Monuments historiques d'Alsace, german: link=no, Gesellschaft zur Erhaltung der geschichtlichen Denkmäler im Elsass). It was moved into the palace in 1889, first opened to the public in 1896, and moved to its present location in 1907. The museum displays finds from northern Alsace from the Paleolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...
Era to the Merovingian dynasty
The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...
, with a special focus on Argentoratum
Argentoratum or Argentorate was the ancient name of the city of Strasbourg. The name was first mentioned in 12 BC, when it was a Roman military outpost established by Nero Claudius Drusus. From 90 AD the Legio VIII Augusta was permanently statio ...
.
See also
* List of Baroque residences
This is a list of Baroque architecture, Baroque palaces and Residenz, residences built in the late 17th and 18th centuries. Baroque architecture is a building style of the Baroque, Baroque era, begun in late 16th-century Italy and spread in Europe ...
Footnotes
References
Further reading
*
* (no ISBN)
*
External links
*
*
''Palais des Rohan - 2 place du Château''
on archi-wiki.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palais Rohan, Strasbourg
Châteaux in Bas-Rhin
Episcopal palaces
Baroque buildings in France
Houses completed in 1742
Tourist attractions in Strasbourg
1742 establishments in France
Monuments historiques of Strasbourg