Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Hotel Bitault de la Raimberdière is an emblematic mansion of the second Angelevine Renaissance, built in the second half of the 16th century. Located in the heart of Angers, between an entrance courtyard and a backyard, once extended by a garden, it illustrates the refined civil architecture of the time. Its irregular plan combines a central house body, a left pavilion, a slightly protruding forewing, and a tuffle gallery at the back. The elevations, made of coated shale, house two square floors and attices, while the blankets mix long sections, exposed gables, and a roof in the main staircase, with a vault with caissons.

The hotel was commissioned by François Bitault de la Raimberdière, lawyer and mayor of Angers, who already resided there in 1571 when the adjacent garden was acquired. The work ranged between 1571 and 1589, a date engraved on the skylight of the left pavilion of the courtyard, considered the later part. The gate, the two stairs (one with a core wall with cradle vaults), and several chimneys date from this period. The building then passed into the hands of influential families such as the Ayrault, Lechat, or Boylesve, before being associated with the Bellefonds Pissonnet in the 18th century, which added panelling and a monogrammed balcony.

In the 19th century, the hotel underwent major changes: the Rue du Mail was pierced, destroying part of the communes, the garden, and a body of rear buildings. In the 20th century, it will house the sisters of Saint Charles and then the university of the senior age after its acquisition by the municipality. Ranked as a Historic Monument in 1998, its restoration revealed remains of 17th-century painted decoration in the "golden chamber", as well as traces of bays in the middle of the century modified during architectural repentances. Today, it is a communal property that bears witness to the urban and social evolution of Angers, from the Renaissance to the present day.

External links