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Origin and history

The Querret Hotel is a private hotel built in Besançon between 1781 and 1784 by Jean Querret, engineer of bridges and carriageways, according to his own plans. It replaces a property acquired in 1778, including a 17th century house and a pristine land bounded by a 1732 wall. The new hotel, organized between courtyard and garden, preserves this wall and includes communes, a monumental portal (dated 1785 by its collapsing, now disappeared), and two wells. Interior decorations, such as marble panels and fireplaces, reflect the bourgeois taste of the time.

The construction was completed in 1784, as evidenced by the chimney plates. Jean Querret died in 1788, leaving the hotel to his nephew, J.J. Querret du Bois, who sold it in 1798, keeping only the house on the street. The building, which remained largely unchanged, was listed as historical monuments in 2004 for its house body, commons, courtyard, wells and garden. Its architecture combines stone-cut and bellows, with an honor staircase and side wings serving the apartments.

The pleasant garden, extended by an old vegetable garden and orchard, completes the whole. The interior spaces, organized around a vestibule, include a kitchen adjoining the dining room, typical of the mansions of the time. Structural staircases and central masonry staircase serve two levels of symmetrical apartments. Despite changes of owners, the hotel has retained its architectural integrity and original decorations, such as the hazes and double doors.

Ranked a historic monument in 2004, the Querret Hotel is now a private property. Its portal, facades, and interior elements protect a heritage representative of the discreet luxury of the pre-revolutionary bisontine bourgeoisie. The accuracy of its location (7 rue Lecourbe) and its state of conservation make it a rare testimony of the 18th century urban planning in Besançon.

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