Link with Henry III vers 1584 (≈ 1584)
Registration and royal monogram suggest this date.
4e quart XVIe siècle
Construction of hotel
Construction of hotel 4e quart XVIe siècle (≈ 1687)
Edification under Henry III, mannerist style.
4 mars 1999
Partial classification
Partial classification 4 mars 1999 (≈ 1999)
Registration for Historic Monuments.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
Façade on Rue Grande; passage; façade on the passage of the house on street; façade of the north-west perpendicular wing overlooking the inner courtyard, 75 Grande Street, including the façade of the construction supported against it; corresponding roofs; spiral staircase inside the northwest wing; cartridge with Latin motto of the late sixteenth century, painted on the wall of a living room, on the ground floor of the building body located south of the passage, 73, rue Grande (Box AN 202, 203, 205, 252, 253): inscription by decree of 4 March 1999
Key figures
Henri III - King of France (1574–1589)
Monogram and currency associated with the hotel.
Propriétaire anonyme - Notable at Henri III
Suspected sponsor, high social status.
Origin and history
The Hotel des Rois, also named Hotel d-Henri III, is a private hotel built in Châtillon-sur-Indre in the last quarter of the sixteenth century. Located in the heart of an island between Grande Street and the old fortifications, it stands out for its street façade, decorated with a maneristic decor combining bossages, architectural orders and ground frames. A latent inscription (FRANCE POULONGNE) accompanied by the monogram of Henry III suggests a construction around 1584, when the king took possession of the local chestnut. The sponsor, probably a notable in the service of the sovereign, displays his social status there by a careful architectural treatment, rare in the region.
The composition of the main facade, almost symmetrical around the stairway span, illustrates a stylistic transition between manerism and emerging classicism. On the left, the bosses and orders animate the surface, while on the right, the crosscut berries adopt a more classic sobriety. This duality, taken over on the north-west facade without grotesque elements, may reflect a change in taste or an interruption of work. Despite later alterations (drilling shops on the ground floor), these facades remain among the most remarkable of Châtillon-sur-Indre, testifying to the provincial interpretation of Parisian cannons.
The hotel is part of a context of urban prosperity linked to the presence of royal judicial institutions. Châtillon-sur-Indre, the seat of a presidial since 1639, was then the main judicial city of Lower Berry, attracting a local elite capable of financing such buildings. The two-storey gallery bordering the southern courtyard, contemporary of facades, highlights this architectural ambition. Partially listed as historical monuments in 1999, the hotel retains protected elements such as the stairway with screws, roofs and a painted Latin motto, fragile remains of this period.
Sources also mention another hotel, Hotel Pellerin, sometimes confused with Hotel des Rois because of their chronological and stylistic proximity. Both reflect the economic boom of the city in the Renaissance, marked by the emergence of a literate bourgeoisie close to power. Their preservation offers valuable insight into 16th-century urban planning and social hierarchies in Touraine and Berry, regions under the direct influence of the crown.
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