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Origin and history

The Hotel de Ligniville is an emblematic mansion in Besançon, built in two distinct phases in the 18th century. In 1753, the bisontin architect Jean-Charles Colombot erected the body of houses overlooking the Grande Rue for Mr Varin, adviser to the Besançon Parliament. This first building, sober and functional, marks the beginning of a residence for the local elite, reflecting the prestige of parliamentary office under the Old Regime.

Between 1774 and 1781 Princess Jeanne-Marguerite de Ligniville, Countess of the Baume Montrevel, acquired the estate and entrusted Claude-Antoine Colombot — son or relative of Jean-Charles — with the extension of the hotel between courtyard and garden. This second site radically transforms the property, adding a monumental staircase surmounted by a false dome, richly decorated living rooms, and a pleasant garden. The facades, decorated with friezes in bas-relief, and the interiors (classified in 1984) illustrate the fascist of bisontine aristocracy on the eve of the Revolution.

The building, in the form of a "U", organizes its spaces around an inner courtyard and a partially preserved garden despite subsequent reductions (1865, 1885-1909). The large living room on the first floor, with its original woodwork and decorations, as well as two Hercules statues attributed to Luc Breton, evoke the coat of arms of the Ligniville. The stables and a "garden factory" — which disappeared in the 19th century when the Theatre Square was built — once completed this area, symbolizing the power and artistic taste of its sponsors.

Ranked as a Historic Monument in 1984, the hotel protects its facades, roofs, the honorary ironwork staircase, and five rooms with their decor (dining room, large living room, boudoir, etc.). The restoration works of the 1990s revealed decorative elements of marteled sheet metal, probably dating from the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century. These discoveries underscore the desire to preserve a heritage in which architectural innovation and nobility combine.

Beyond its architecture, the Hotel de Ligniville embodies the social changes of Besançon in the Enlightenment century: the transition from a parliamentary bourgeoisie to an earth-based aristocracy, and the integration of Parisian artistic influences into a city at the time of the regional capital. Its history also reflects urban transformations, with the gradual disappearance of its dependencies in favour of public spaces, such as the Theatre Square.

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