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Key figures

Origin and history

The Hotel de Villeroy is a Parisian mansion built between 1713 and 1724 by the architect François Debias-Aubry for the Swiss banker Antoine Hogguer de Saint-Gallen, Baron de Presles. The hotel was designed for her mistress, actress Charlotte Desmares, and was then rented to foreign ambassadors after the Baron's bankruptcy in 1726. Its history reflects the fascists of the aristocracy and political upheavals, moving from the hands of financiers to ministers.

In 1735, the hotel was acquired by François-Louis de Neufville, Duke of Villeroy, who undertook major expansions in 1746, including a circular salon designed by Jean-Baptiste Leroux. After the Duke's death in 1766, his nephew Gabriel Louis held sumptuous festivals, even welcoming the King of Denmark Christian VII. Sold in 1768 to the Count of Tesse, the first shield of Queen Marie Leszczyńska, the hotel briefly houses a piano factory before being confiscated during the Revolution.

Under the Executive Board, the government purchased the hotel, which successively hosted the military health inspection, a staff school, and then the ministries of commerce and agriculture from 1831. Since 1881 it has been the seat of the Ministry of Agriculture. His major transformations, such as the enlargement of the commons by Emmanuel Brune in 1881 or the symetricization of the facade in 1930, preserved his stamp while adapting to his administrative functions.

The original architecture, marked by a house of five spans and gardens accessible via the east facade, is enriched in the eighteenth century by a rotunda and wing connecting the commons. The Second Empire saw the demolition of the old communes, replaced by neoclassical buildings. Inside, the main staircase with wrought iron ramps, lounges decorated with Gobelins tapestries and period chandeliers, as well as the garden with its copy of Proserpine's removal, bear witness to its prestige.

Ranked a historic monument in 1994 for its 19th century facades and 18th century home, the Villeroy Hotel embodies the evolution of Parisian heritage, mixing aristocratic history, republican adaptations and contemporary ministerial functions. Its famous residents, from Charlotte Desmares to the Duke of Villeroy, make it an emblematic place for the Marais and then the 7th arrondissement.

Future

It is the seat of the French Ministry of Agriculture.

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