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Origin and history

The Beurnier-Rossel hotel is a mansion built in 1774 in Montbéliard by architect Philippe de la Guépière for Georges-David Rossel and Anne-Madeleine Beurnier, a Protestant bourgeois near the Württemberg court. Located in St Martin's Square, opposite the Temple of St Martin, it embodies the aristocratic architecture of the principality. Its living room and facade have been classified as Historic Monuments since 1987, as well as its ceramic stove (1988).

In 1917, the last descendant of the Beurnier bequeathed the hotel, its furniture and works of art to the city to make it a museum. As early as 1843, the Museum of the Dukes of Württemberg was installed there before being transferred in 1937. Since 1995, the site has been home to the Musée Beurnier-Rossel, dedicated to art, history and local traditions (XVIIIth–XIXth centuries), labeled Musée de France.

The museum exhibits marquéed furniture by the cabinet-makers Couleru (Montbéliard style), Protestant liturgical objects, traditional costumes, and a unique collection of music boxes from the Lsépe factory (Sainte-Suzanne, 1839–1996). It also preserves an original edition of the Encyclopedia of Diderot and of Alembert. An anecdote marks his story: Tsar Alexander I of Russia stayed there in 1814, his mother having grown up in Montbéliard.

Originally managed by the Société d'Emulation de Montbéliard (SEM) since 1852, the museum saw its collections transferred to the city in 1963 (castle) and 1992 (Beurnier-Rossel hotel). The SEM, a local learned society, contributed until 1960. The building combines architectural heritage (stairs, bourgeois salons) and thematic collections: Lutheran religious art, ethnology (dresses, textiles), and industrial history (music boxes).

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