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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The building at 31 St. John Street in Neufchâteau is a former building linked to the command office of Neufchâteau, originally founded by the Templars before moving to the Hospitallers of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem after the dissolution of the Order of the Temple. Mentioned in 1292 as property of Robécourt's Templar Commanderie, this hospital foundation became a national property in 1793. The present building, partially rebuilt in the 16th century and rebuilt in the 18th century, preserves traces of these periods, including a gate and facades protected since 2000.

The current structure dates in part from 1750, as evidenced by the date worn on the out-of-work staircase. The street house houses an 18th-century interior decor, including a neo-classical stucco stove niche attributed to the birdman Joseph Beunat. Upstairs, a painted oak ensemble, with tinted panels, bears witness to the refinement of the period. The back building, with its bread oven covered with appentis, illustrates the domestic and administrative functions of the building, now sub-prefecture.

Ranked a historic monument in 2000, the building protects its facades, roofs, staircase on courtyard, as well as the decorating rooms on the ground floor and first floor. Its history reflects the transitions between religious orders (Templars, Hospitallers) and its adaptation to civil usages after the Revolution. The accuracy of its location (7/10) and its state of conservation make it a major architectural witness to the Vosges.

The site is part of an urban context marked by hospital and administrative heritage. The command office, one of the oldest in Neufchâteau, symbolizes the role of religious orders in the territorial and social organization of medieval and modern Lorraine. Its transformation into a sub-prefecture in the 19th century emphasizes the reuse of historic buildings by public institutions, a common practice after the secularization of ecclesiastical property.

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