Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Hotel de Fleury, located in Lodève in the Hérault, is a private hotel built between the last quarter of the seventeenth century and the second half of the eighteenth century. He replaced an earlier building in which André Hercule de Fleury, future bishop of Fréjus, cardinal and minister of Louis XV, was born on 22 June 1653. This hotel was set up after the acquisition in 1677 of a nearby house by Jean de Fleury, the cardinal's father, marking the beginning of a vast architectural project.

The building is distinguished by its entrance gate decorated with pilasters, carved masks and plant motifs, typical of the 17th century style. The central square courtyard, accessible by a vaulted passage in basket handle, leads to a large stone staircase and a vestibule serving the rooms and the garden. The pavement of the courtyard, composed of black and white pebbles arranged in diamond, as well as the 18th century gypsies – like a trophy of music above a fireplace – bear witness to the successive developments.

Ranked and registered at the Historic Monuments in 1980, the hotel now houses the Lodève Museum. Protected elements include facades, gate, interior doors, courtyard pavement, baluster staircase and gypsum office. The site was expanded at the end of the 19th century when it was assigned to a girls' high school, before becoming a museum.

The history of the Hôtel de Fleury is inseparable from that of the cardinal of Fleury, a major figure in the reign of Louis XV. His father, Jean de Fleury, played a key role in the building's constitution, some of which preserve traces of early construction. The interior transformations, dated from the middle or late eighteenth century, reflect the evolution of the tastes and uses of the Languedoc aristocracy.

The location of the hotel at 13 or 26 rue du Cardinal-de-Fleury remains a historic landmark in Lodève. Although geographical accuracy is considered poor (note of 5/10), its status as a communal property and its association with the museum make it a must cultural place in Occitanie.

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