Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The hotel of the archbishops of Sens, located 1 rue du Figuier in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, was originally built in the 15th century for Guillaume de Melun, archbishop of Sens and adviser to the kings of France. This prelate, whose authority extended over seven bishoprics of which Paris, acquired in 1366 the hotel of Jean d'Hesomesnil, exchanged for a dwelling near the wharf of the Celestines. This first building, integrated into the hotel Saint-Pol de Charles V, was replaced between 1495 and 1519 by Tristan de Salazar, who built the present building, mixing medieval style (tourelles, scauguettes) and Renaissance elegance (Gothic porch, decorated windows).

In the 16th century, the hotel welcomed notable figures such as Marguerite de Valois, known as "Queen Margot", who lived there in 1605-1606 after his divorce with Henri IV. The legend says that she had a fig tree cut down, obstructing the passage of her carriage, giving her name to the street. The hotel will also house Nostradamus in 1555, invited by Catherine de Medici, as well as cardinals and ministers such as Antoine Du Prat or Louis de Guise. After 1622, when Paris became an independent archdiocese, the building lost its episcopal function and was rented to artisans or industrialists.

The hotel became a national property in 1790 and was sold and transformed in the 19th century into workshops (laundry, jamming) and unhealthy housing. A ball of the Three Glories (1830) remains embedded in its facade. Rached by the City of Paris in 1911, it was restored between 1930 and 1960 to house the Forney Library, specialized in decorative arts and crafts. Ranked a historic monument in 1862, it now embodies the medieval and reborn heritage of the Marais.

Architecturally, the hotel is distinguished by its three corner turrets, its dungeon and its inner courtyard. The facade on the Rue du Figuier preserves Gothic elements (ogival vaults) and renaissants (windows). Desenclaved after the demolition of the unhealthy island n°16 (1936-1965), it offers a striking contrast with modern Paris. The Forney Library, opened in 1961, preserves unique collections on poster, typography and applied arts.

In culture, the hotel inspires works such as Nedim Gürsel's Unwritten Book Cemetery (1988), which imagines a secret library under its foundations. In 2017, the show Secrets d'Histoire (France 2) shot sequences for an episode on Marguerite de Valois, highlighting her role in Parisian legends.

Future

The city of Paris bought the hotel in 1911, it was restored in the 1930s, and since 1961 it has housed the Forney Library, dedicated to fine arts, crafts and their techniques, applied arts and decorative arts.

External links