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Origin and history

The Palais du Commerce de Tours, also known as the consular hotel or Bourse hotel, is a building built in the 3rd quarter of the 18th century (1757-1759) for the Tour Merchant Corps. It replaces buildings acquired a century earlier to house the Bedding Hall and the Dawning Office, following a royal ordinance of 1665 authorizing merchants to impose to finance this project. The architect Pierre Meusnier designs a set of four houses around a central courtyard, with a sober facade on the street side and more elaborate decors on the courtyard. The curtain hall, vaulted and divided into naves, occupies the ground floor of the south wing.

At the time of the Revolution, the building became the office of the merchants, and in 1803 welcomed the Chamber of Commerce and the commercial court in the west wing. An honorary staircase in wrought iron leads to two remarkable rooms: the courtroom of the court, whose ceiling was painted by Maurice Mathurin in 1927, and the Grand Salon of the Chamber of Commerce, adorned with signs by Georges Souillet illustrating the economic activities of the Touraine in the eighteenth century (soilery, viticulture, etc.). These sets are in addition to the restorations carried out by architect Jean Hardion between 1880 and 1892.

Ranked a historic monument in 1931, the Palais du Commerce embodies the economic history of Tours, from its role as consular jurisdiction under the Old Regime to its current functions. The building combines architectural heritage (confronton with the city's weapons, carved shell) and artistic testimonies of the 19th and 20th centuries, such as Watteau inspired arabesques or extensions of 1924. Its location, in the heart of the Old Towers (4 bis rue Jules Favre), makes it a symbol of local commercial and judicial heritage.

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