Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Key figures
Pierre Housieaux - President of *Historical Paris*
Directed the association during the restoration.
Moines cisterciens de Notre-Dame d’Ourscamp - Initial owners
Founded the house in 1248.
Origin and history
The Ourscamp hotel, also known as Maison de Marsande or Maison de l'Ours, is a building located at 44-46 rue François-Miron (4th arrondissement of Paris). In 1248, the Cistercian monks of Notre-Dame d'Ourscamp Abbey received this land near Saint-Antoine Street (present-day François-Miron Street) and built a stone town house there, with pantry and pillar hall. This place was used to store and sell the products of the abbey, but financial difficulties caused the monks to rent parts to artisans.
The house was rebuilt around 1585 in a Renaissance style, with a stone-linked façade, sill windows, and an inner courtyard with wooden panels. Two wings house baluster staircases, and the heavy French roof is pierced with carved skylights. After the Revolution, the abbey was expropriated, and the building, sold, housed traders before undergoing transformations in the 17th to 19th centuries.
In the 20th century, the Ourscamp hotel was threatened with demolition as part of the unhealthy islands of Paris. In 1961, the Association for the Preservation and Development of Historical Paris (now historic Paris) obtained its preservation, despite its degraded state. The association restores it with volunteers and places its seat there. Since 1966, the façade, roof, staircase and cellar have been classified as historical monuments.
The building illustrates the architectural evolution of Paris, from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, and bears witness to the economic history of Cistercian abbeys. Its restoration by a citizen association also makes it a symbol of the preservation of heritage in the face of modern urban projects.
