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Origin and history

The house in Richelieu, built in the seventeenth century, is part of the ambitious urban project of Cardinal Richelieu. The latter transformed his native village into an ideal city, designed by architect Jacques Lemercier, with a rigorous geometrical plan: ditches, ramparts, monumental gates and symmetrical streets lined with aligned houses. The building, erected around 1633 by the entrepreneur Jean Barbet for Louis the Barbier – secretary and master of the king's hotel – follows Lemercier's initial plans. It could have housed the city's salt attic, testifying to its administrative or economic role.

The hotel has a central body dating from the 17th century, flanked by a north wing added to the 18th century and a south wing of the 19th century. The fireplaces of the main body, typical of the eighteenth century, as well as the commons transformed into houses in the courtyard, reflect the architectural and functional evolutions of the building. The facade and roof on the street were protected as early as 1932, while a 2004 decree extended this protection to the courtyard facades, porch, historic height and stone fireplace, highlighting the heritage value of the ensemble.

The Richelieu project, sponsored by the cardinal, aimed to create a model city, symbolizing its power and influence during the reign of Louis XIII. The regularity of the urban layout and the uniformity of the buildings, like this house, illustrate a desire for control and architectural harmony, characteristic of the absolutistic achievements of the period. The location of the building on the Grande-Rue, the main artery of the city, reinforces its importance in the urban fabric designed by Lemercier.

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