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Origin and history

The Hôtel des Trésoriers de France, also known as the Hotel de Lunaret or Palais Jacques-Coeur, is one of the oldest private hotels in Montpellier. Located between the streets of the Treasurers-de-France and Jacques-Coeur, it was originally built around 1448 by architect Simon de Beaujeu for Jacques Coeur, great silversmith of Charles VII. The latter made it a nerve centre for his commercial activities in Languedoc. The building will then house the Court of Aids in the 15th century, then the Chamber of Accounts in the 16th century, before being acquired in 1632 by the treasurers general of France.

The hotel served as a residence for several visiting sovereigns, including François I in 1537, Henri de Navarre in 1632, and Anne of Austria. Louis XIII stayed there in 1632, after the siege of Montpellier, for twelve days before repressing a revolt in Toulouse. The building was almost entirely rebuilt from 1676 by Ponce Alexis de La Feuille, the king's engineer, who incorporated Parisian architectural influences, such as an imposing facade with doric and Corinthian colonnades, as well as a monumental staircase opening onto a loggia.

The interior decoration includes a ceiling painted by Jean de Troy around 1690, representing the Discovery of Truth through Justice. The building, classified as a Historic Monument in 1931 (excluding attic), was left in 1910 by Henri de Lunaret to the Société archéologique de Montpellier. Since 1992, it has been home to the Languedoc Museum, presenting collections of prehistory in the 19th century. Its architecture, marked by the absence of exterior facades and suns carved in homage to Louis XIV, bears witness to its political and symbolic role under the Ancien Régime.

The hotel preserves medieval elements, such as a 15th century vaulted passage, and decorated beams ceilings of the 17th century. After the Revolution, it was acquired by Jean-Jacques Tandon, then by the Lunaret family in the 19th century. Its quadrilateral plan around a central courtyard, with a monumental staircase, reflects the codes of the great Montpellieran hotels of the time. Today, he illustrates both Jacques Coeur's legacy and the influence of royal institutions in Languedoc.

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