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Origin and history

The building at 20 Ernest-Renan Street in Besançon is a remarkable example of Renaissance civil architecture. Built in the 16th century, it consists of two parallel stone houses, built on vaulted cellars in a cradle. The side cochère entrance gives access to a covered street, while a decent corridor leads to a garden. An open-cage staircase with turned wooden columns serves both building bodies, one of which also has an exterior masonry staircase with a ironwork ramp.

The first traces of construction date back to the first half of the 16th century, with a house on street and another on courtyard, both redesigned in the second half of the century, especially at the level of their later facades. In 1691, major works were undertaken, as indicated by an accedade bay dated this year: a central staircase was built between the two houses, and a straight exterior staircase in masonry, with a iron ramp, was added to serve the secondary house. A wooden and coated building, housing a logger and domestic rooms, is probably built at the same time.

Over the centuries, the building changed owners: acquired in 1773 by Claude-Mathieu Marrelier de Verchamp, a councillor in parliament, it was sold in 1795 as a national property after the emigration of Antoine-François-Xavier Marrelier. The subsequent transformations remain minor, with the exception of the attic layout in the 20th century and the conversion of a laundry into a kitchen. The engineer Louis-Jean-Victor Résal (1854-1920), designer of the Alexandre-III Bridge in Paris, lived there.

The building has been partially protected since 1941, with an inscription under the title of Historic Monuments for its facade on street and roof. Its L-shaped plan, characteristic stairways and interior arrangements reflect the architectural and social evolutions of the bisontine bourgeoisie, from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to the contemporary era.

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