The Hôtel de Breteuil () is a historic building in the 16th arrondissement of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France.

History

The

hôtel particulier () is the French term for a grand urban mansion, comparable to a Townhouse (Great Britain), British townhouse. Whereas an ordinary (house) was built as part of a row, sharing party walls with the houses on either side and directly fronting on a ...

was built for Henri Le Tonnelier de Breteuil and his second wife. It was designed by architect Ernest Sanson, and its construction was completed in 1892. During the Christmastime of 1858, the hotel hosted a

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

match between the American master

Paul Morphy Paul Charles Morphy (June 22, 1837July 10, 1884) was an American chess player. During his brief career in the late 1850s, Morphy was acknowledged as the world's greatest chess master. A prodigy, Morphy emerged onto the chess scene in 1857 ...

and

Adolf Anderssen Karl Ernst Adolf Anderssen (6 July 1818 – 13 March 1879)"Anderssen, Adolf" in ''Encyclopædia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 385. was a German chess master. ...

, part of Morphy's tour of Tour of Europe. Morphy won the match handily, and Anderssen thrice employed an unusual opening—with mixed results—which came to bear his name. After the death of the Marquis de Breteuil in 1916, the hotel was sold in 1919 to the Saint family, before becoming the residence of the Princess of Faucigny-Lucinge in 1937. During the

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

, under the Occupation, the hotel housed the headquarters of the State Secretariat directed by

Fernand de Brinon Fernand de Brinon, Marquis de Brinon (; 26 August 1885 – 15 April 1947) was a French lawyer and journalist who was one of the architects of French collaboration with the Nazism, Nazis during World War II. He claimed to have had five private tal ...

. The building was acquired by the Irish State for in . It has since been the home for the Irish Embassy in France.

Gallery

File:Entrance_to_the_Embassy_of_Ireland,_Paris.jpg, The Coat of arms of Ireland is featured above the entrance to the Embassy. File:Ambassade d'Irlande en France.JPG

References

Houses completed in 1892 Breteuil Buildings and structures in the 16th arrondissement of Paris Rococo Revival architecture {{Paris-geo-stub