Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Chaulnes hotel, also known as the Descures hotel or Nicolay-Goussainville hotel, is an iconic mansion located in 9 Place des Vosges, in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. Built in the early 17th century, it is part of the architectural complex of the Place Royale (now Place des Vosges), a prestigious place in the capital. Its façade and roofs, as well as its vaulted gallery, have been classified as historical monuments since 1954, while other interior elements were more recently protected in 2022.

At the beginning of the seventeenth century, the hotel belonged to Pierre Fougeu, Sieur Descures, king's adviser and husband of Claude Touchet. The young Louis XIII stayed there during the inaugural celebrations of Place Royale, marking his importance from the beginning. Upon the death of Claude Touchet in 1641, the good passed to his daughter, married to Jean Godart, adviser to the Parliament, before being sold in 1644 to Honoré d'Albert d'Ailly, 1st Duke of Chaulnes and Marshal of France.

The 3rd Duke of Chaulnes, Charles d'Albert d'Ailly, inherits from the hotel and entrusts Jules Hardouin-Mansart with the construction of the right wing in the courtyard. In 1701, after his death, the hotel was acquired by Jean Aymar de Nicolaÿ, Marquis de Goussainville, whose descendants kept it until the Revolution. During this period, Aymar Charles de Nicolaÿ, the last owner of the family, was guillotined in 1794, and the hotel, placed under receivership, was returned in 1795.

In the 19th century, the hotel welcomed notable figures such as the tragic Rachel, whose funeral in 1858 attracted a crowd to the Place des Vosges. It is also inhabited by personalities such as the politician Eugene Bethmont and the art historian Anatole de Montaiglon. Today, the first floor houses the headquarters of the Academy of Architecture, perpetuating its link with the French cultural heritage.

The successive transformations of the hotel reflect its turbulent history, from the hands of the aristocracy under the Old Regime to those of bourgeois families in the 19th and 20th centuries. Its architecture, marked by the interventions of Hardouin-Mansart, and its illustrious occupants make it a privileged witness to Parisian history, from the monarchy to the Republic.

Future

The 1st floor is currently the headquarters of the Academy of Architecture.

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