Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Hotel Pommer-Layrargues, located at 3 rue de l'Argenerie in Montpellier, is a historic monument built in the second half of the eighteenth century. It was established in 1742 by banker Jean Pomier, who reused the walls of two existing houses to modernize the facades. The openings, slightly curved and decorated with Louis XV style keys, testify to this renovation. The interior decoration, later (after 1765-1770), includes an oval vestibule and a three-flyed staircase, whose wrought iron ramp alternates straight stems and wavy patterns, attributed to the Bongues artisans.

The basket handle portal is distinguished by its carved corbellation, adorned with shells and cut leaves, in a characteristic rock style. The vestibule consoles, representing heads (including Hercules), support a beam leading to the staircase. Ferronries, of great finesse, combine volutes in C and motifs in S, reflecting the craftsmanship of the era exception. The hotel, partially protected since 1963 (facades, roofs and stairs), illustrates the fascist of Montpellierian bourgeois residences under the Old Regime.

The building is part of an urban context marked by Montpellier's economic boom in the 18th century, where bankers and traders invested in private hotels to display their status. Its architecture combines classical influences (symmetry of windows) and rock (sculpted spaces), typical of the aristocratic taste of the era. The location in the city centre, near the commercial axes, emphasizes its role as a social showcase for its sponsor, Jean Pomier, figure of the Montpellier bourgeoisie.

External links