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Origin and history

The Hotel de Montmartin, located in Besançon in the Doubs, is a former mansion built in the late 16th century for Cardinal Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle, a major figure in Habsburg politics. The building replaces a medieval tower acquired in 1581, whose demolition allows to raise a Renaissance building according to the plans of the bisontin architect Richard Maire. The works, marked by stilt foundations and an elevation in 1584, were interrupted by the death of the cardinal in 1586, leaving the hotel unfinished.

In 1618, the municipality of Besançon bought the hotel from the cardinal's heir, Thomas-François d'Oiselay. The building then underwent various assignments: horseback riding academy in 1653, residence of the military governors of Franche-Comté from 1677, with major redevelopments between 1683 and 1685. In the 18th century, the arrival of the Duke of Duras in 1734 required the construction of new stables and a military prison, while the house corps was enlarged by a wing in return for a square. The interiors were embellished, as evidenced by the ten ices commissioned in 1741 by the Duke of Randan.

Sold as a national property in 1793, the hotel passed into the hands of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart in 1823, who built a chapel there and rebuilt the left wing in 1840. In 1907, he became the Berger maternity, dependent on the Saint-Jacques hospital, before sheltering his administration after 1973. The 18th century gate, façade and roofs have been listed as historical monuments since 1979. The hotel also welcomed historical figures such as Louis-Philippe d'Orléans and served as a framework for the assembly of the states of Franche-Comté in 1788-1789.

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