The Wallot family is of Huguenot origin and goes back to the French noble house Vallot – presumably from Languedoc, France. The Vallot family gained popularity through Antoine Vallot, who served as the personal physician ('' premier médecin du roi '') of King Louis XIV. from 1652 until Louis’ death in 1671. Antoine Vallot was

ennobled Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

by King Louis XIV. in 1668. The French as well as the German branch of the family produced a number of well-known personalities, such as the architect of the German Reichstag

Paul Wallot Johann Paul Wallot (26 June 1841 Oppenheim am Rhein – 10 August 1912 Bad Schwalbach) was a German architect of Huguenot descent, best known for designing the Reichstag building in Berlin, erected between 1884 and 1894. He also built the adjacent ...

, the physicist Julius Wallot and

Joseph Vallot Joseph Vallot (16 February 1854 – 11 April 1925) was a French scientist, astronomer, botanist, geographer, Cartography, cartographer and Mountaineering, alpinist and "one of the founding fathers of scientific research on Mont Blanc". He is kno ...

, who erected the observatory

Refuge Vallot The Vallot Hut ( French: ''Refuge Vallot'') is a refuge in the Mont Blanc massif on the upper slopes of Mont Blanc in the Alps. It is located below the Bosses Ridge between the Dome du Gouter and Mont Blanc summit, at an altitude of 4,362 me ...

on the Mont Blanc built that still exists today.

History

Antoine Vallot

Antoine Vallot became the personal physician of Louis XIV on July 8, 1652. Born in 1596/6, Vallot earned his medical education at University of Reims. Documents also indicate a degree at the University of Montpellier; it is believed that Vallot began his studies in Reims, but graduated in Montpellier. Although the exact date of his arrival in Paris is unclear, Vallot was already in Paris in 1647 to a select circle of physicians who served the royal family. Vallot's patients soon included influential people at the French court, such as Cardinal

Jules 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 XIV ...

. In addition, Vallot was said to have a close friendship with his previous royal physician Francois Vautier. It is believed that especially the latter compound contributed significantly to Vallot's appointment as royal physician in 1652. In addition to his role as royal physician, Vallot held the offices of '' Head of Royal Baths, Fountains and Mineral Waters '' and '' Director of the Botanical Garden Paris '' ( Jardin des Plantes). Vallot married Catherine Gayant, daughter of a wealthy Parisian family, in February 1634. The marriage produced two daughters and four sons. In 1668, Vallot was given a peerage by King Louis XIV. Among the possessions of the family were the Château de la Magnanne and the Chateau de Neuville (Gambais), which was managed by Antoine Vallot's brother Jean-Baptiste. Andouillé-Neuville (35) Château de La Magnanne 02.JPG, Château de La Magnanne Vue aérienne chateaudeneuville.jpg, Aerial view of Château de Neuville (Gambais)

Escape to Germany

The Protestant part of the family became increasingly cornered about the suppression of the

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss politica ...

by the

Catholic clergy The sacrament of holy orders in the Catholic Church includes three orders: bishops, priests, and deacons, in decreasing order of rank, collectively comprising the clergy. In the phrase "holy orders", the word "holy" means "set apart for a sa ...

and from 1685 also on the king. After the death of Antoine Vallot in 1685, and the consecration of the

Edict of Fontainebleau The Edict of Fontainebleau (22 October 1685) was an edict issued by French King Louis XIV and is also known as the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The Edict of Nantes (1598) had granted Huguenots the right to practice their religion without s ...

, resulting in the peak of suppression of Protestants in France in 1685, the Protestant part of the family left France in the 1680s to settle in

Oppenheim Oppenheim () is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The town is a well-known wine center, being the home of the German Winegrowing Museum, and is particularly known for the wines from the Oppenheimer Krötenbru ...

. As one of the most productive layers of society, rulers of neighbouring countries readily accepted Huguenots. In many places, Huguenots were granted privileges and credits, and in the countries where they immigrated, they were often responsible for the flourishing of the economy and especially agriculture. With the transformation of the original name Vallot into the German style of writing Wallot, the national assimilation of the family is considered to be completed.

Wallot in Oppenheim

Like Huguenot families in other German cities, the Wallot family influenced the city of Oppenheim. The influence of the family in Oppenheim is detectable until today – not least due to the prominence of

, who built the

Reichstag building The Reichstag (, ; officially: – ; en, Parliament) is a historic government building in Berlin which houses the Bundestag, the lower house of Germany's parliament. It was constructed to house the Imperial Diet (german: Reichstag) of the ...

between 1884 and 1894. Oppenheim hosts a Paul Wallot square and the Baptismal font in St. Catherine's Church in Oppenheim was designed by Paul Wallot and donated in 1888 by Paul’s father. The family crest of the family Wallot (Vallot) is incorporated in the window of the St. Catherine's Church. The family also ran a vineyard in Oppenheim, which exists under different ownership until today. On the Oppenheimer cemetery is the family grave of the Wallot family. In the centre of the family grave is a Doric

Aedicule In ancient Roman religion, an ''aedicula'' (plural ''aediculae'') is a small shrine, and in classical architecture refers to a niche covered by a pediment or entablature supported by a pair of columns and typically framing a statue,"aedicula, n." ...

in honour of Paul Wallot and his wife, which was designed by the Swiss architect Alfred Friedrich Bluntschli. On the aedicule, there is a profile picture of Paul Wallot in bronze. Paul Wallot's birthplace at Krämerstraße 7 still exists today and currently houses a restaurant that runs a Paul Wallot room. The house also has a bronze plate in honor of Wallot. A special feature of the house are two side-by-side doorways bearing initials Taufstein Katharinenkirche in Oppenheim.jpg, Baptismal font, Katharinenkirche, Oppenheim Wallot Wappen Detail 1.jpg,

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 Wallot family in the window of the Katharinenkirche, Oppenheim Wallot Weingut 1.jpg, Former winery of the Wallot family in

Wallot Familiengrab 1.jpg, Family grave Wallot in

Wallot Geburtshaus 2 1.jpg,

Birthplace The place of birth (POB) or birthplace is the place where a person was born. This place is often used in legal documents, together with name and date of birth, to uniquely identify a person. Practice regarding whether this place should be a cou ...

Paul Wallot, Krämerstraße 7 in

Coat of arms

The exact origin of the family’s

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 ...

is unknown. However, the coat of arms was already worn by Antoine Vallot and, thus, must be at least from the 17th century. The shield is in the form of "Tiercé en chevron", which was a symbol of protection and conservation, martial valor, resistance and strength.Since it is a French coat of arms, s. French Wikipedia article List of péces héraldiques. The tincture of the coat of arms is held in blue and gold. The golden rafter is accompanied above by two golden stars. Below is a bundle of three golden acorns tied together with a golden ribbon. The helmet is held in silver and has seven grids. The

crest Crest or CREST may refer to: Buildings *The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York *"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York *Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switzerla ...

consists of a golden between two blue ostrich feathers. In addition, the helmet is surrounded by blue-golden blankets.

Notable members of the family

* Antoine Vallot (French Wikipedia) (1596/6-1671), personal physician of Louis XIV. * Johann Wilhelm Wallot (German Wikipedia) (also Jean Guillaume) (1743-1794), German-French astronomer *

(1841-1912), architect of the German Reichstag building * Joseph Vallot (French Wikipedia) (1854-1925), astronomer and geologist * Julius Wallot (German Wikipedia) (1876-1960), German physicist

Literature

* Natalie Hawkes: ''Beyond the Sun King’s bedside. Antoine Vallot and the broader identity of the premier médecin du roi in Louis XIV’s reign.'' PhD thesis, Newcastle University, 2014
PDF; 2,1 MB
. * Léon Moulé: ''Lettre d'Anoblissement pour Antoine Vallot, premier médecin du Roi.'' In: ''Bulletin de la Société française d'histoire de la médecine'', 1912, Nummer 11, S. 193–197
online
Standeserhebung durch Louis XIV. im Originaltext) * Maximilian Rapsilber: ''Das Reichstags-Gebäude. Seine Baugeschichte und künstlerische Gestaltung sowie ein Lebensabriss seines Erbauers Paul Wallot.'' Cosmos, Berlin 1895
online
.

References

{{reflist Huguenot families