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Origin and history

Hotel Princé is a private hotel located in the Old Towers, 11 rue Descartes and 55 rue Néricault-Destouches. This monument is distinguished by its wall trim with Carolingian décor, visible on the south facade overlooking the garden. This fragment, composed of bricks and stones in alternating patterns, is interpreted as a vestige of the enclosure of Châteauneuf, near the south gate, or integrated with it. Some historians, such as Charles Lelong, support this archaeological hypothesis, although its exact origin remains debated.

The present residence was rebuilt around 1895 by the family of Bazire, who re-used medieval elements in elevations and structure. During this work, Abbé Bossebeuf discovered in 1896 the Carolingian trimming, described later by Louis Bousrez in 1907. This vestige consists of superimposed strips in small cross-linked apparatus, in fish edges, with tegulae seats in decorative motifs, framing a large curved bay. The cellars also reveal ancient masonries, including a wall of sitting flint kidneys, attributed to the rampart of the Faubourg Saint-Martin in the 10th century.

The hotel was acquired around 1930 by industrialist Roger Princé, whose name he now bears. Since 1991, the Carolingian siding and medieval remains of the basement, including a portion of the rampart of the Martinopolis, have been protected as historical monuments. These elements, located perpendicular to the bottom of the staircase leading to the cellar, bear witness to the urban history of Tours, between Carolingian heritage and bourgeois transformations of the 19th century.

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