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Key figures

Origin and history

The Marco Hotel, also known as Folie Marco, is a patrician residence built in 1763 in Barr (Bas-Rhin) by Louis-Félix Marco, baili of the local seigneury. Set at the site of the old chapel of St. Wolfgang, demolished by the city, this 18th-century building combines seigneurial and bourgeois influences. His name of "insanity" would come either from his ostentatious character – typical of Alsatian recreational residences – or from the excessive expenses of Marco, who ruined him. The property, sold after his death in 1772, changed hands several times before being acquired in 1922 by the Schwartz brothers, who made it a museum in 1964.

The Musée de la Folie Marco, labeled Musée de France, presents collections of Alsatian furniture from the 17th to 18th centuries in a preserved setting. The building, partially listed as a historical monument since 1935, retains remarkable features: armorized balcony facades, carved oak Louis XIV staircase, and a 19th-century garden with rare essences and stone remains, such as a balcony with atlantes from the Abbey of Andlau. The adjoining vineyard, acquired during the Revolution, recalls the wine history of the region.

The inner arrangement reflects the worldly uses of the time. The vestibule houses a Louis XV library, the only original furniture, while the floors display religious objects and testimonies from successive owners, such as the Will of the Schwartz Brothers (1933). Architectural transformations, including those of the Kienlin (post-Revolution) and Trawitz (1816–922) families, marked the evolution of the site, now dedicated to the valorization of the Alsatian heritage.

The site, located at 30 rue du Docteur-Sultzer, at the northern exit of Barr, also illustrates the extramural urbanization of the city. Its cross story – between aristocratic fascists, financial decline, and museum vocation – makes it a symbol of the social and cultural changes of Alsace, the Enlightenment to the present day.

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