Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The 17th century Maisons in Richelieu monument is part of the ambitious urban project launched by Cardinal Richelieu. The latter transformed his native village into a planned city, entrusting the plans to architect Jacques Lemercier. The city is distinguished by its geometric layout, its ditches, its ramparts, and its symmetrical streets lined with aligned houses. These buildings reflect a will of order and magnitude, characteristic of architectural achievements of the time.

The hotel in question, built in the second quarter of the 17th century for Alphonse de Lopez – agent of the cardinal and supervisor of the construction site – consists of two distinct parts: a covered dardian pavilion served by a staircase with four nuclei, and a low wing in flat tiles distributed by a mixed staircase (stone and wood). The building, estimated at 16,000 pounds in 1632, was later fragmented and rented, even housing an inn named at the Doré well. In 1695 a restoration was undertaken for Louise Mériot, then a housekeeper.

The heritage protections concern facades and roofs (registered in 1932 and 1992), as well as a remarkable staircase with balusters, a witness to the architectural elegance of the period. These elements underline the historical importance of the site, linked both to the figure of the cardinal and to the innovative 17th century urban planning in France.

The precise location, although documented (Grande-Rue, Place du Marché), suffers from a cartographic accuracy deemed fair (note 5/10). The monument, partially protected, today embodies the built heritage of Richelieu, model city of French classicism.

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