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Origin and history

The hotel of Castries, located at 72 rue de Varenne in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, is a mansion built at the end of the 17th century for Jean Dufour, seigneur of Nogent. Its original structure, typical of the time, organizes a square courtyard surrounded by a central body and two symmetrical wings, with passages leading to kitchens and stables. The interiors feature double-exhibition lounges, wrought iron stairs and attices, reflecting the aristocratic residential architecture of the time.

In 1708, the hotel was acquired by Joseph François de La Croix de Castries, Marquis de Castries, thanks to the inheritance of his uncle, Cardinal de Bonzi. Between 1708 and 1714, the marquis began to embellish, including the extension of the garden and interior fittings for 20,000 pounds. Upon his death in 1728, the hotel was rented to the Duke of Biron before passing in 1743 to his grandson, Charles Eugène Gabriel de La Croix de Castries, future Marshal of France. The latter, enriched by the legacy of the Marshal of Belle-Isle in 1761, launched major works: interior decoration by Jacques Verberckt and construction of a portal on street by Jacques-Antoine Payen (1762).

During the French Revolution, the hotel was looted in 1790, seized as demigrated property and attributed to the Ministry of War. In the 19th century, Edmond, the second Duke of Castries (1787–66), undertook a major restoration between 1843 and 1863 under the direction of architects Joseph-Antoine Froelicher and Clément Parent. These transformations give the hotel its current physiognomy. The hotel is then partially rented to aristocratic families such as the Clermont-Tonnerre or the Rochefoucauld-Liancourt.

After the death of the second Duke in 1866, the hotel passed to his nephew and was sold in 1886 to Louise Lebeuf de Montgermont, heiress of an industrial dynasty (Creil-Montereau factory). In the 20th century, it was requisitioned in 1946 to house the Ministry of Agriculture, and subsequently hosted several ministries (Public Function, Housing, Cohesion of Territories). Ranked a historic monument in 1957, it remains an active political place, hosting in 2022–24 the offices of the minister delegated to the Democratic Renewal.

The hotel of Castries also marked the literature: Stendhal described it in Le Rouge et le Noir (1830) and Life of Henry Brulard (1835–36), where Julien Sorel evolved. In 2017, its façade was tagged by pro-migrant activists, and in 2018–2019, part of the building was temporarily home to homeless people. Closed for renovation in 2024, it embodies both the aristocratic heritage and the political changes of contemporary France.

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