Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Hotel de Nupces is an early 18th century Toulouse mansion located at No. 15 rue de la Bourse. Built between 1716 and 1728 for Jean-Georges de Nupces, councillor and then president of the Toulouse parliament, it embodies the early adoption of the classical style in the city, with a U-shaped plan between courtyard and garden. Its symmetrical architecture masks the irregularity of the plot, typical of the urban constraints of the era.

The site initially housed a 15th-century hotel belonging to the Lancefoc family, influential pastel merchants, many of whom were capituls. Acquired in 1565 by Antoine François de Paulo, a member of parliament, he passed by inheritance to the family of Nuppes in the 17th century. François de Nupces (1613-1676), married to Marie de Paulo, consolidated the parliamentary position of the family, preparing for future transformations.

Jean-Georges de Nuppes (1663-ca. 1728), faced with financial difficulties, sold the hotel in 1714 before buying it back in 1716 with adjacent properties. He then undertook his reconstruction in a severe classical style, characteristic of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The hotel was then passed on to his son Guillaume (1700-1763), who made minor modifications, such as the sale of an attired inn.

After the Revolution, the hotel was seized as a national property and sold to a merchant, Pierre Sarrus. Left behind between 1945 and 1972, it was restored in the 1970s to become a condominium housing today apartments, offices and part of the Goethe Institute. Its wrought iron staircase, attributed to Bernard Ortet (circa 1760), and its classified facades bear witness to his past prestige.

Architecturally, the hotel is distinguished by its rectangular court of honor, framed by a central house body and two wings. The facades, symmetrical despite the asymmetry of the wings, have ionic and corinthian pilasters, while the interiors, redesigned, retain remains of stucco and an adorned staircase ramp. The monumental gate and the ironwork of the balconies underline its classic elegance.

Protected since 1950 for its facades and roofs, the Nupces Hotel embodies the evolution of the Toulouse elites, from the Middle Ages pastel merchants to the parliamentarians of the Enlightenment. Its history reflects the political and social upheavals, from the Ancien Régime to the Revolution, through contemporary restorations.

External links