Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Hotel Savaron is a 16th century mansion built in 1513 by Hugues Savaron, advisor to King Francis I and a drapier merchant, and his wife Françoise Terrisse. Located on Rue des Chaussetiers in Clermont-Ferrand, it embodies the flamboyant southern Gothic style, with an austere facade on contrasting street with a richly decorated inner courtyard. The date of construction, engraved on a cul-de-lampe of the exterior gallery, and the initials of the sponsors (HTSF) adorn the vault keys, recalling their commercial origins.

The building consists of two housing bodies connected by superimposed galleries, served by a screw staircase inscribed in a turret. The latter, adorned with an ogival lintel representing three wild men and a marteled shield at the Revolution, illustrates the influence of American discoveries on decorative motifs. The vaulted premises on the ground floor, originally dedicated to trade, underline the link between architecture and the drapery activity of the Savaron.

Ranked a historic monument in 1927, the Hotel Savaron also bears witness to the importance of the Savaron family in the history of Clermont, notably through Jean Savaron, grandson of Hugues, magistrate and historian who played a role in the States General of 1614. The court's armorial door, the superimposed bridges connecting the buildings, and the carved keys to the family weapons reinforce its heritage character.

The interior decoration mixes medieval tradition with Renaissance innovations: hanging key vaults, prismatic chambranles, and braided gables decorated with hooks. These elements, combined with the Gothic structure, make the hotel a remarkable example of the civil architecture of the first modernity in Auvergne, between feudal heritage and openness to new influences.

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