Hôtel de Castille

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Ministère de la Culture, in French. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Ministère de la Culture; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

History

Near the episcopal residence, this block was formerly occupied by the mint where the bishops minted coins. Of this building only a few remains survive (mouldings and windows of the 15th and 16th centuries). The other parts of the block were completely transformed at the beginning of the 19th century when the baron de Castille, inheriting the building, had a hotel built there. The construction rises two storeys above a ground floor. A central block without a setback presents the same storey levels but its cornice is raised and surmounted by a large triangular pediment, emblazoned with the arms of Castille-Rohan. Three rows of balusters mark the horizontal lines of the composition. The balcony of the central block is supported by four pairs of coupled columns rising over the full height of the two lower storeys. Another colonnade supports the balcony of the first floor. The symmetry of the peristyles is achieved through a device made possible by the existence, at the entrance of rue Raffin, of the boundary wall of a large garden masking the western part of the ground floor. In order to reach this garden without descending into the street, a passage was established above this street. The openings of the storeys were planned to establish a rhythm harmonizing the asymmetry of the wings and the symmetry of the colonnades.