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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Chevanney Hotel, located at the 11 Grande-Rue in Besançon, is a private hotel originally built in 1582 for Jean Chevanney des Daniel and his wife Louise Vauldret. The facade on the street, made of cut stone, is decorated with their coats of arms and two Latin inscriptions: "God give to whomever he wills" and "My God do not despise a contrite and humiliated heart". The building, attributed to architect Hugues Sambin, combines Renaissance elements and subsequent transformations.

Around 1730, under the probable direction of architect Jean-Pierre Galezot, the hotel underwent important works for Étienne-Joseph de Mongenet, son-in-law of Chevanney. These include the elevation of one floor on the main house, the construction of a secondary L-house around the courtyard, and the addition of an open cage staircase with a iron ramp. The works, completed around 1732, modernized the whole while preserving old structures such as vaulted cellars and the passage check.

In the 19th century, the building was once again raised from one floor, removing the original front-roof. A wing is added to the left of the courtyard, and coffers are placed on the posterior façade. The street façade, characterized by triangular and arc-shaped frontons, was classified as a historical monument in 1937. In 1983, the damaged ground floor bosses were restored identically.

The hotel illustrates the architectural evolution of the bisontine, mixing Renaissance heritage (passage check, inscriptions) and transformations of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Its L-shaped plan, vaulted cellars and central staircase make it a remarkable testimony of the local aristocratic habitat, linked to influential families such as Chevanney and Mongenet.

Today, the Chevanney Hotel remains a preserved example of Besançon's urban heritage, with a strategic location in the historical area of La Boucle. Its history reflects the social and architectural changes of the city, from Renaissance to contemporary times.

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