Every year, the Journées du Patrimoine (Heritage Days ) are eagerly awaited by enthusiasts and the curious looking for exceptional experiences. This key cultural event on the European calendar invites us to discover our heritage in a whole new way, with a great program of visits, often free of charge, and original events for young and old alike. Museums, monuments, castles, churches, as well as surprising or rarely accessible sites, are all part of the program in the four corners of the Paris region.
As you can imagine, Paris has an XXL program in store for you! The City of Light, which is also considered a museum city, is brimming with fabulous treasures that fascinate Parisians of all ages. As the Journées du Patrimoine return for their 41st edition on September 21 and 22, 2024, what would you say to living this special weekend to the rhythm of exceptional openings?
Among the places usually closed to the public that take part in the Journées du Patrimoine are numerous ministries. These are often housed in impressive private mansions! In the 7th arrondissement of Paris, for example, you have the opportunity to conquer theHôtel de Roquelaure, currently home to the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion. Located on the famous boulevard Saint-Germain, this hotel was built in the early 18th century and has expanded over the years. Find out more about its history through the exceptional Heritage Days program!
The Hôtel de Roquelaure, listed as a historic monument since 1961, currently houses the offices of the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion and the Ministry of Energy Transition.
The Hôtel de Roquelaure (1709-1740)
It was in 1709 that Marshal Antoine Gaston, Duc de Roquelaure, decided to settle in the newly favored faubourg Saint-Germain, acquiring the Hôtel de Villetaneuse on September 24, 1709.
Without making any major changes in the early years, the Roquelaures extended the grounds in 1711. It wasn't until 1724 that the Duc de Roquelaure commissioned architect Pierre Cailleteau dit Lassurance (1655-1724) to draw up plans for a new hotel. He radically transformed the hotel, enlarging it and making it worthy of the ducal rank.
After Marshal de Roquelaure's death, the hotel was sold in July 1740 to Mathieu-François Molé, First President of the Paris Parliament.
L'hôtel Molé (1740-1807)
The hotel took the name of its new owner. President Molé, who had the reputation of a wealthy man of integrity and little worldliness, nonetheless appreciated having an up-to-date interior, and commissioned new woodwork and paintings for the hotel. He called on renowned painters Jean-Baptiste Oudry and Charles-Joseph Natoire, who was commissioned to paint four canvases. Until the French Revolution, different generations of the Molé family lived side by side on the estate. Seized in 1793 following the arrest of its owner, Édouard-François Molé (guillotined on April 20, 1794), the mansion was transformed into an asylum for mangy people, then assigned to the Agriculture and Arts Commission. In 1795, the Convention returned the hotel to the family. The apartments were then rented out to various individuals, including Count d'Hatzfeld and Baron Van Hoorn Van Vlooswyck, until 1807.
From Cambacérès to the present day...
After succeeding Robespierre as head of the Comité de Salut Public, Jean-Jacques Régis de Cambacérès (1753-1824) became, after Brumaire, Bonaparte's right-hand man, to whom he owed much of his fortune. He replaced Napoleon as soon as the latter left the capital, headed the Council of State, represented the Assemblies and organized the justice system. Cambaceres was the architect of Napoleon's great achievements. Richly endowed and showered with honors, Cambacérès was made Archchancellor of the Empire in 1804, Duke of Parma on March 19, 1808, Grand Eagle of the Legion of Honor, member of the Institut..., Jean-Jacques-Régis de Cambacérès bought the Hôtel Molé in 1808. He added the Hôtel de Lesdiguières (then the Hôtel de Sully), bringing the two properties together once and for all. He welcomed the whole of Europe to his hotel. Official dinners followed one another at the rate of two a week, organized for political purposes and in the service of the Emperor. Like Talleyrand, Cambacérès knew that a good cook was worth an army, and the archchancellor's table was one of the most renowned of his time. The archchancellor of the Empire resided here until he went into exile in 1816.
The hotel was sold the same year to the Duchesse d'Orléans. From 1816 to 1821, Louise-Marie-Adélaïde de Bourbon-Penthièvre preserved the hotel's vocation as a large, richly decorated seigneurial residence, making it one of the most beautiful on the Faubourg Saint-Germain. His children, the future King Louis-Philippe and Madame Adélaïde, did not live in the hotel.
In 1823, the Duc d'Orléans proposed to Louis XVIII that the hotel be exchanged for wood cuttings in the Bondy forest, and that the Garde Meuble de la Couronne be installed there.
Under the July monarchy, the hotel became the headquarters of the Conseil d'État (1831), before being assigned to the Ministry of Public Works (order of September 10, 1839).
Today, the Hôtel de Roquelaure houses the office of the Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition, whose central administration is located in the La Défense district.
The story of the Hôtel de Roquelaure is thus that of a former private mansion on the Faubourg Saint-Germain that became the headquarters of a government ministry. In this respect, it differs little from the history of many other hotels in the district. However, it is one of the best preserved, as the various occupants have not wished to modify the hotel in any major way, and have been keen to preserve the original decor.
As a result, the hotel retains a certain classical rigor inherited from the 17th century. It is a precious testimony to the architecture of the reign of Louis XIV. The rich rocaille-style decorations of certain rooms, created by the ornamentalist Nicolas Pineau (1684-1754) and the architect Jean-Baptiste Leroux, make the Hôtel de Roquelaure a unique place still inhabited by the memories of its illustrious owners.
The original contribution of 19th-century decorations from the reign of Louis-Philippe and the Second Empire, attempting to harmonize with the other rooms, is just as important and admirably completes the lineage of civil and public interior decoration left by two centuries in the same building.
All facades and roofs, as well as the portal, the courtyard floor and the garden, have been listed as historic monuments since April 29, 1961.
Dates and Opening Time
From September 21, 2024 to September 22, 2024
Location
Hôtel de Roquelaure
246 Boulevard Saint-Germain
75007 Paris 7
Access
Solférino metro station (line 12)
Official website
www.ecologie.gouv.fr
