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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Hotel de Bar is a mansion built in the 15th century in the commune of Allègre, in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is part of a set of six noble houses built along the city's ramparts, a fortified enclosure with eleven towers connected by courtines. These constructions were authorized in 1435 by the Lord of Allegre, who granted eight aristocratic families the privilege of raising their own residences to protect themselves in the event of siege. The Bar Hotel, located on the eastern part of the fortifications, was erected by Lancelot de Bar, captain of the castle of Allègre between 1418 and 1422.

The hotel's architecture is characterized by an elongated building, centered around a stair turret on the north facade, overlooking an inner courtyard. A second building, accessible by terraces leading to the gardens, extends the structure northward. The turret retains moulded-framed openings dating from the 15th or 16th centuries, while the other facades were pierced with bays in the 17th century, during major renovations undertaken by a new owner. This work will include the addition of a rectangular house body adjacent to the stair tower.

Inside, each floor is organized into a string of rooms, complemented by service spaces such as alcoves or squids. The original kitchen, heated by a monumental fireplace from which remains only the pieddroits adorned with prismatic columns, bears witness to the medieval domestic use. The rooms, renovated in the 19th century, were equipped with woodwork, alcoves and painted wooden fireplaces imitating marble. The Hotel de Bar, classified as a historical monument since 1993, thus embodies the architectural and social evolution of a noble residence over the centuries.

The protection of the building was formalized by an order of 15 September 1993, listing the hotel (cadaster B 2175) in the inventory of historical monuments. Its precise address, 12 Place du Marchidial, and its Insee code (43003) place it in the Haute-Loire department, in the heart of the former Auvergne region. The terraced gardens, accessible from the north building, complement this remarkable ensemble, combining defensive and residential functions.

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