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Origin and history

The house in Richelieu, built in the seventeenth century, is part of the ambitious urban project launched by Cardinal Richelieu. The latter transformed its native village into an ideal city, designed according to a rigorous geometric plan: symmetrical streets, ditches, walls and monumental doors. The architect Jacques Lemercier, already in charge of the castle, drew the plans of the city, while entrepreneurs such as Jean Barbet built the buildings, including this house with its wing in return of square and its characteristic staircase.

The building was built in 1633 or 1634 for Claude Ragois, secretary of the king's council, on a land offered by the cardinal on February 11, 1633. The house, typical of the imposed urban alignment, initially consisted of commons, transformed into a dwelling in the 19th century. Subsequent additions, such as stables, a laundry room and greenhouses, partially altered its structure. The facades and roofs, protected by decrees in 1932 and 1992, now bear witness to this architectural heritage linked to the political and urban history of classical France.

The fence wall, decorated with cast iron pots, and the porch underline the influence of the aesthetic codes of the era. Richelieu, a new city for its time, symbolized the centralizing power of its founder, mixing personal ambition and state project. The 19th century changes, though significant, did not erase the traces of this prestigious origin, classified as Historical Monuments.

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