The Hôtel de Hanau, also known as the Hôtel de ville and (in German) as the Hanauer Hof, is a historic building located on the Place Broglie on the Grande Île in the city center of

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

, in the French department of the

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin () is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its lower altitude among the two French Rhine departments: it is downstream of the Haut-Rhin (Upper Rhine) de ...

. It was designated a ''

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 collection of buildings, ...

'' by the French government in 1921.

History

The barons of Ochsenstein had owned property on the Place Broglie since the 13th century. The property descended to the rulers of

Hanau-Lichtenberg The County of Hanau-Lichtenberg was a territory in the Holy Roman Empire. It emerged between 1456 and 1480 from a part of the County of Hanau and one half of the Barony of Lichtenberg. Following the extinction of the counts of Hanau-Lichtenberg in ...

, a county of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, through marriage, in the 16th century. In 1728, the last Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg, Johann Reinhard III, decided to demolish the existing building and erect a new structure. The new building would be a typical

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 ...

with a grand portal, a grand courtyard and two ornate façades. Construction of the new building commenced in 1731. It was designed by Joseph Massol, who was also the architect of Palais Rohan, in the

Baroque style The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (i ...

, built in

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

stone with a

cement render Cement render or cement plaster is the application of a mortar mix of sand and cement, (optionally lime) and water to brick, concrete, stone, or mud brick. It is often textured, colored, or painted after application. It is generally used on ...

, and was completed in 1736. The layout involved a three-storey main building at the back of a courtyard, with three-storey wings on either side and a high wall at the front. The main building had seven bays. The central section of three bays, which was slightly projected forward, was arcaded on the ground floor, and fenestrated with three tall square headed windows with

architrave In classical architecture, an architrave (; , also called an epistyle; ) is the lintel or beam, typically made of wood or stone, that rests on the capitals of columns. The term can also apply to all sides, including the vertical members, ...

s on the first floor, and three smaller square headed windows with architraves on the second floor, all surmounted by a

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

with fine carvings in the tympanum. The other bays were fenestrated in a similar style, but were cement rendered. Internally, the principal rooms included the Grand Salon, which featured a fine Gobelins

tapestry Tapestry is a form of Textile arts, textile art which was traditionally Weaving, woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical piece ...

depicting '' The Parnassus'' by

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

. In common with other foreign-owned properties, it became

state-owned State ownership, also called public ownership or government ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, property, or enterprise by the national government of a country or state, or a public body representing a community, as opposed to ...

(''bien public'') in the wake of the French Revolution in 1790. In 1805, the city council presented the impressive Palais Rohan to the Emperor

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, who in return gave the Hôtel de Hanau, which was much less costly to operate, to the city of Strasbourg for use as its ''Hôtel de ville'' or

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

. An extensive programme of refurbishment works, including improvements to the roof and the replacement of internal fittings, was completed at a cost of €3.8 million in 2016. This enabled the building to continue to be used for weddings, official receptions and banquets, whilst the administration of the city and the Eurométropole de Strasbourg remained at the ''centre administratif'' (also known as ''mairie'') near Parc de l'Étoile (built between 1973 and 1976).

Gallery

Musée historique de Strasbourg-Sac de l'Hôtel de ville.jpg, Ransacking of the former ''hôtel de ville'' by French Revolutionaries on 21 July 1789 (painting in the Musée historique de Strasbourg) Hôtel de ville de Strasbourg en octobre 2013.jpg, Place Broglie facade of the Hôtel de Hanau at dusk Strasbourg hotHanau-Lichtenberg08.JPG, Grand portal to the courtyard on ''Rue brûlée'' (detail) Strasbourg hotHanau-Lichtenberg26.jpg, Main reception room (current state). On the wall: 1790s Gobelins

, copy after '' The Parnassus'' by

Strasbourg hotHanau-Lichtenberg19.jpg, Wedding hall (current state)

References

External links

*
''Hôtel de ville - place Broglie''
on archi-wiki.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Hotel de Hanau 18th-century architecture Monuments historiques of Strasbourg Government buildings completed in 1736 Baroque buildings in France Hôtels particuliers in Strasbourg 1736 establishments in Europe

18th-century architecture in France

History

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links