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Origin and history

Hotel Bansard des Bois is a private hotel located in the city of Bellême, in the department of Orne in Normandy. Built at the end of the 18th century, it is distinguished by its elegant architecture, typical of the bourgeois residences of this period. The building consists of three buildings: an entrance porch decorated with pilasters and sculptures, an arcade gallery serving as a walkway and orangery, and the main building. These elements reflect the taste for neoclassical decorations, with details such as metopes, triglyphs and floral garlands.

Ranked and listed as historic monuments in 1979, the hotel bears witness to the heritage importance of Bellême. The porch, with its vantals and carved lintel, as well as the wrought iron gate and adjacent water body, are protected for their architectural and historical value. The hotel was built for Louis Jacques Mousset, parish priest of Igé between 1769 and 1787, suggesting a link with the local clergy or a command linked to an influential figure in the region.

The layout of the buildings, including a closed courtyard and a garden below, illustrates the spatial organization of the mansions of the time. The gallery, with its five curved arcades, was to offer a space of walk and pleasure, while the commons and porch underline the residential and representative function of the place. These features are a notable example of 18th-century civil architecture in Lower Normandy.

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