Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The former Hôtel de la Prévostée du Chapître, located in Neuwiller-lès-Saverne in the Lower Rhine, is a large 18th-century residence, rebuilt from 1748 under the direction of the Swiss architect Jacques Gallay for the Provost Michel Antoine Le Vayeur. The building, organized around a main house body and two wings, has a symmetrical seven-span facade, with a low arch central entrance adorned with a carved cartridge. At the back, a forebody and gardens extended to the second enclosure of the nearby abbey.

In 1751-1752, interior fittings were added, including woodwork by Jean Michel Bierenhauser, as well as stables and grills. After the Revolution, the property was sold as national property in 1792 to Gaspard Merkel, then acquired in 1795 by Henri Jacques Guillaume Clarke, future Marshal of France. The latter decorated the Empire Salon in 1808 with allegorical paintings depicting Olympus, in tribute to his fellow soldiers who died in battle.

Ranked a historic monument since 1934 for its facades and roofs, the hotel retains remarkable elements such as vaulted cellars, a rotating wooden staircase, and painted woodwork. Despite its protection, access to the interior is now restricted, limiting the study of its intact decorations, described in 1968 by a contractor of the General Inventory. The building thus illustrates the architectural and political evolution of Alsace between the Ancient Regime and the Empire.

The building is also distinguished by its integration into the abbey complex of Neuwiller-lès-Saverne, with a courtyard of the Chapel and a garden bordering the old fortifications. Its history reflects the changes in property associated with revolutionary upheavals, as well as the influence of military sponsors under the First Empire. The paintings of the salon, attributed to Helmsdorf, and the addition of an attic floor attest to this period.

Today, the Hôtel de la Prévoté remains a significant example of the Alsatian civil heritage, mixing religious heritage (linked to the Chapel) and secular transformations. Its state of partial preservation, coupled with its ranking, makes it a subject of study for historians of art and architecture, despite the current restrictions of access.

External links