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Origin and history

Hotel Groslot is a 16th century mansion located in Orléans, Loiret department. Built under the impetus of the Groslot family, it is also known as Grand House of the Step, House of the Governor or Stewardship. Originally conceived as a private residence, it successively became a city hall and a place for celebrating marriages. Its Renaissance architecture, marked by a red brick facade arranged in diamond, makes it an emblematic monument of the city.

The construction of the hotel began around 1549 under the direction of Jacques Groslot, baili d'Orléans and Chancellor of Marguerite de Navarre. Upon his death in 1552, his heirs completed the work between 1553 and 1558. The hotel hosts royal figures such as Francis II, who died there in 1560, and Charles IX, as well as Catherine de Medici. He also served as headquarters for Protestants during the Wars of Religion, notably under Louis I of Bourbon-Condé in 1562.

Purchased by the municipality in 1738, the Groslot Hotel first houses the intendants of the generality of Orléans, then becomes the town hall after the French Revolution. Ranked Historic Monument in 1862, it was restored between 1850 and 1855 by architect André Delton. Today, it retains an interior decoration in troubadour Gothic style and houses rooms dedicated to weddings and municipal administration. A statue of Joan of Arc, installed in the 19th century, thrones in front of his porch.

Hotel Groslot is also linked to artistic and literary works. Honoré de Balzac describes him in Sur Catherine de Médicis, while painters like Pierre Dupuis and Isidore Laurent Deroy represented him in their works. Its gardens, accessible from the rue d'Escures, house a wall classified as a historical monument in 1846, vestige of the ancient chapel of Santiago.

Owned by the commune of Orléans, Hotel Groslot remains a symbol of the architectural and historical heritage of the Centre-Val de Loire region, reflecting the political and social evolution of the city since the Renaissance.

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