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 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 has been classified as 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, ...

since 1970. The Hôtel de Klinglin currently serves as the residence of the

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

of the department of Bas-Rhin. It should not be confused with the on the

Place de la République The Place de la République (; English: Republic Square; known until 1879 as the Place du Château d'Eau, ) is a square in Paris, located on the border between the 3rd, 10th and 11th arrondissements. The square has an area of .Warner, p. 250 ...

, which houses the administrative functions of the prefect.

History

This grand

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 ...

, of a different design than most in Strasbourg (featuring a straight and a crescent-shaped façade instead of two straight ones), was built between 1732 and 1736 for the royal moneylender (''prêteur royal'') François-Joseph de Klinglin (1686–1753). The architects were Jean-Pierre Pflug and Joseph Massol. After Klinglin's disgrace and imprisonment in 1752, the hôtel became the seat of the royal Intendancy of Alsace, which it remained until the French Revolution. Between 1789 and 1799, it was used as the seat of the ''Directoire du district'' and since 1800, it has served as the residency of the prefect of Bas-Rhin, with two intervals: between 1871 and 1918, it housed the ''Statthalter'' (

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

) of Alsace-Lorraine and between 1940 and 1944, the ''

Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a ''Administrative divisions of Nazi Germany, Gau'' or ''Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party, rank in ...

''. During the Siege of Strasbourg in 1870, the hôtel was heavily damaged by

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n artillery: the exterior walls withstood but the roof collapsed and almost all the interiors were destroyed. It was rapidly rebuilt and refurnished using as much original material as possible; only the shape of the

roof A roof (: roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of tempera ...

was modified and a balcony added. The architect responsible for the reconstruction was , who also faithfully rebuilt the

opera house An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

nearby. The Hôtel du préfet is not open for tourists apart on special days such as European Heritage Days.

Gallery

Hôtel de Klinglin - Lithographie de Joseph Wencker.jpg, The hôtel seen in 1870, after the shelling by Prussian troops Strasbourg hotKlinglin46.JPG,

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 ...

of the riverside façade Strasbourg Ancien Hôtel Klinglin dit Petit Broglie cour d'honneur juin 2013.jpg, Courtyard Strasbourg hotKlinglin01.JPG, Main portal on ''Rue brûlée'' (detail), added in 1747 by Joseph Massol. Strasbourg hotKlinglin25.jpg, A reception room Hôtel du préfet, Strasbourg (7710130342).jpg, Former ball room, now ''salle

Louise Weiss Louise Weiss (25 January 1893 – 26 May 1983) was a French author, journalist, feminist, and European Union, European politician. She was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971 Nobel Peace Prize, 1971 and for the Nobel Prize in Literatur ...

'' Strasbourg hotKlinglin20.jpg, Upper floor of the grand staircase

References

External links

*
''Hôtel du préfet - 2 place du Petit Broglie''
on archi-wiki.org

Literature

*Recht, Roland; Foessel, Georges; Klein, Jean-Pierre: ''Connaître Strasbourg'', 1988, , pages 121–124

History

Gallery

References

External links

Literature

See also