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Origin and history

The former Chancery of Hanau-Lichtenberg County, located in Bouxwiller (Bas-Rhin), was built between 1658 and 1663 by the Strasbourg architect Hans Weibel, on the order of Count Frédéric Casimir of Hanau-Lichtenberg. This rectangular two-storey building, with carved sill façades and Renaissance gates, replaced a first chancery destroyed in 1688. It also housed the Chamber of Accounts and a carrosses discount, reflecting its central administrative role.

The construction cost 7,703 Gulden, not counting the chores imposed on the inhabitants. To avoid the bad fate, offerings (wine glasses, pieces, and two mummified cats discovered in 1974) were placed in the walls. After the dissolution of the county, the municipality acquired the building in 1827, partially renovating into school halls before settling in the town hall. Joined the historic monuments in 1930, it retains remarkable elements such as its zinc gargoyles with dragon heads and its clock bell.

The main facades feature monumental portals decorated with Corinthian columns, angelels, and coats of arms: that of Bouxwiller and the eagle of the Holy Empire on the Place du Château; the coat of arms of the Hanau Lichtenberg (1606) on the Rue de la Chancellerie. The interior doors, dated 1662, combine carved sandstone and marked wood. Upstairs, the Museum of the Land of Hanau now occupies spaces formerly dedicated to the Comtal archives, while taskmarks recall the craft of the time.

Restored several times (notably in 1909 by Bernasconi, who restored the coat of arms hammered during the Revolution), the building combines civic functions and historical heritage. Its passing skylights, half-croup roof, and symbolic details (such as the Swan, Hanau emblem) illustrate the Germanic influence and administrative importance of Bouxwiller under the Old Regime. At present, it has been restored to preserve its cultural and municipal role.

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