Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Louvre Hotel is a former Henri IV-style post office in Château-Gontier-sur-Mayenne in the Mayenne department (Pays de la Loire region). Built in the 17th century, it illustrates the typical architecture of buildings dedicated to the reception of travellers and the transmission of royal mail under the Old Regime. Its logistical role made it a strategic place on the roads of western France.

During the French Revolution, the hotel industry became a home of royalist activism. Pierre-Mathurin Mercier, the hotelier's son, involved himself in the March 1793 vendean uprising. The place also marked the meeting between the caulian chef Georges Cadoudal and Lucrece Mercier, sister of Pierre-Mathurin. Their history, marked by revolutionary repression, ended tragically with the execution of Cadoudal in 1804 and Lucrece's entrance to the Ursulines.

Partially classified as historical monuments by decree of 23 December 1987, the hotel house preserves facades on protected courtyard (parcel AC 154). Today, the building combines private and communal property, without its current use (visits, accommodation) being clearly specified in the available sources. Its architecture and its past make it a symbol of the patrimony of the Vendee and Mayen.

External links