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Origin and history

The Hotel Despringles, also called Hotel de l'Académie de Dijon, is a private hotel built between 1662 and 1675 by Guillaume Despringles, clerk of the states of Burgundy. Located in the preserved area of Dijon, rue Monge (formerly rue Crébillon), it illustrates the classic 17th century style. Its interior decoration, notably the parlour adorned with bas-reliefs in stucco imitating marble, was made by sculptor Guillaume Boichot on order by Guyton de Morveau, reflecting the fascist of the Burgundy elites of the time.

In 1773 the Académie de Dijon acquired the hotel, but the French Revolution led to its abolition in 1793 and the sequestration of its property. Reestablished in 1798 as the Free Society of Science, Arts and Agriculture, she lived with the University of Dijon from 1809, after her property was allocated to her by an imperial decree of 1808. There was a legal conflict between the two institutions until 1846, when the Academy was expelled. The expanding university then transformed the building to accommodate faculties of science and literature.

Between 1843 and 1888, the hotel underwent major expansions led by architects François Papinot and Ludovic Allaire, adding amphitheatres, laboratories and collection rooms. These eclectic-style extensions respond to the growth in student enrolment. The Faculty of Letters left the site in 1920, followed by the sciences in 1957, when they moved to the Montmuzard campus. The rectorate remained there until 2012, before moving to a new building. Ranked a historic monument in 1994, the hotel is now partially converted into housing, while its Hall of Acts remains accessible for events.

The building thus embodies almost four centuries of history, combining 17th century aristocratic heritage, academic heritage of the Enlightenment, and academic adaptations of the 19th and 20th centuries. Its architecture, marked by successive additions, bears witness to the evolution of educational and cultural needs in Burgundy-Franche-Comté.

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