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Origin and history

The hotel of Antwerp, also known as the Emskerque hotel, is a private hotel located at 44 Grande-Rue in Besançon, Doubs department. Built between 1585 and 1590 for Guillaume d'Emskerque (or d'Anvers), co-governor of the city from 1597 to 1602, it is partly built on a vaulted cellar of the early 15th century, with columns supporting penetration arches. This monument illustrates the civil architecture of the bisontine Renaissance, with a "U" plan and a large street facade decorated with pilasters, frontons and cornices. Since 1994, it has preserved archaeological remains in its soils and courtyards.

In the 18th century, the hotel became the residence of senior officials. Claude Boisot, president of the parliament of Franche-Comté, owned it at the beginning of the century. Between 1703 and 1718, three intendants — Louis de Bernage, Pierre-Hector Le Guerchoy and Olivier d'Ormesson — stayed there and financed major renovations: panelling, ceilings, windows, and the creation of a garden. In 1746 Jean-Jacques Boisot added Louis XV panelling and built a right wing. In 1772, the hotel housed a royal finance office, before being transformed into a revolutionary administrative seat in 1793. The architects Bertrand and Charmet intervened in 1796 to repair the damage suffered.

The modifications continued in the 19th and 20th centuries: a shop replaced part of the ground floor, a concrete wing was added, and the garden became a parking lot. Despite these alterations, the hotel retains remarkable elements, such as a polychrome pebbly paving in the check-pass, a masonry staircase, and a garden factory at the back of the courtyard. The interior decorations, notably the Louis XV and Louis XVI panelling, bear witness to his past prestige. Today, private property remains an emblematic example of the Bisontin civil heritage, mixing Renaissance heritage and classical transformations.

The building is located in the saved area of La Boucle, the historic heart of Besançon. Its dual vocation — aristocratic residence and then administrative seat — reflects the political and social evolution of the city, from the Old Regime to the Revolution. The archaeological remains of its courtyards, protected since 1994, offer an overview of the site's previous occupations, while its successive developments illustrate the architectural tastes of the local elites over four centuries.

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