Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The former Metz Chamber of Trades, also known as the Corporation House or Gewerbehaus, was built between 1907 and 1909 in Raymond-Mondon Square, in the imperial district. This project was part of William II's policy of architectural Germanization to assert the German hold over the annexed Lorraine. The building, designed by architects Gustave Oberthür and Ernst Priedat, adopts a rhenish neo-renaissance style in pink sandstone, typical of the Wilhelmian era.

The building was to embody corporatist power alongside other institutions symbolizing financial, military and religious powers around the imperial square. Its interior layout, functional and rational, includes a window representing the corporations in the stairwell. Inaugurated on 22 September 1909, it initially housed the central committee of the combined corporations, as well as the court of commerce and the collectives.

After 1918, the building became the seat of the Moselle Chamber of Crafts and Crafts in 1923. Ranked a historic monument in 2002, he had various assignments (bank, restaurant) before being destined for cultural and professional activities. Its architecture and history reflect the urban changes of Metz under German annexation, between stylistic eclecticism and political will.

The construction in pink sandstone and the German neo-renaissance style aimed to visually anchor imperial authority in the Messin landscape. The interior window, a landmark, illustrates the symbolic importance attached to corporations. Today, the Hotel des Arts et Métiers remains a major testimony of this period, between Germanic heritage and French reappropriation.

Future

After serving as a bank and restaurant, the hotel will soon host artistic and cultural performances as well as professional gatherings.

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