Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The hotel at 6-8 rue de l'Arbalète in Tours was a large medieval residence, originally dating back to the 13th century, as evidenced by its vaulted hall on the ground floor. This space, divided into four spans, was based on cylindrical columns and semi-octogonal piles, characteristic of civil Gothic architecture. Under this room, two floors of vaulted cellars were superimposed, highlighting the importance and complexity of the construction for the time.

At the beginning of the 16th century, the house was profoundly renovated in an emerging Renaissance style, with bays framed by pilasters typical of the first Renaissance. The courtyard, closed by a creneled wall, reflected this stylistic transition between the Middle Ages and the modern era. Despite its partial inscription in the Historical Monuments in 1939 (north, east, south, ogival hall and cellars), the building was finally demolished, leaving only archives and descriptions as traces.

The area in which it was located was classified as a protected area on October 18, 1983, recognizing the heritage value of this historic district of Tours. The protected elements — facades, vaulted hall and cellars — illustrate the architectural evolution of the city, from the flamboyant Gothic to the early Renaissance. Today, only documentation, like Serge Martin's photos under Creative Commons license, makes it possible to appreciate its old size.

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