Hotel Dufau-Lamothe à Bordeaux en Gironde

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Origin and history

The Dufau-Lamothe hotel, located in Bordeaux, is a private hotel built between 1762 and 1765 for Jean Léon Dufau de Lamothe. Its sober architecture retains remarkable elements such as the entrance gate, a staircase with its ramp, woodwork and fireplaces. The building was built on a plot initially occupied by stalls and gardens, then enlarged by the gradual acquisition of adjacent plots to form a large garden.

For almost 30 years, Jean Léon Dufau de Lamothe formed this estate before his daughter sold the property. In the 19th century, the hotel was transformed into a boarding school for young girls, during which time it was enhanced by one floor. A chapel, decorated with paintings now degraded, was set up in the cellar at that time. Together, including the wings in return, the cellar and the garden, was inscribed in the Historical Monuments in 2021.

The identity of the architect remains unknown, but the hotel illustrates the taste of the 18th century Bordeaux elites for urban residences combining habitat and green spaces. Its use as a boarding school in the following century reflects the social and educational developments of Bordeaux, while preserving part of its original architectural heritage.

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