Ancienne Maison de Montaigne
MonumentHidden Treasure
Ancienne Maison de Montaigne, located in Bordeaux (Gironde), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Bordeaux, Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 44.8373, -0.5690
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00083899
At the heart of Bordeaux, this sixteenth-century Gothic residence holds the memory of Michel de Montaigne, born within these walls in 1533. A polygonal turret, an oratory with a ribbed vault, and a period fireplace bear witness to an exceptional past.
History
Nestling in the Saint-Michel district of Bordeaux, Montaigne's former home is one of the few built witnesses to the life of the greatest philosopher of the French Renaissance. Behind an 18th-century facade lies an architectural ensemble of unsuspected richness, where limestone and Gothic arches tell the story of four centuries of Bordeaux history. What distinguishes this place from any other residence linked to Montaigne - starting with his famous château at Saint-Michel-de-Montaigne in the Dordogne - is its deep urban and family roots. It was here, on rue de la Rousselle, that the de Montaigne family had built up a vast estate of dwellings and warehouses by the sixteenth century, bearing witness to a merchant family that was later ennobled and on the way up the social ladder. It was not the residence of a solitary thinker in his ivory tower, but the home of a large Bordeaux family, with all that this implied in terms of daily life, commerce and urbanity. The visitor experience is that of a sensitive archaeology: to cross the threshold is to pass through strata of time. The inner courtyard reveals an oratory with a quadripartite pointed vault whose hanging key immediately catches the eye, while the entrance arch plays on a subtle dialogue between smooth white limestone keystones and vermiculated grey stone. Further on, the polygonal turret, stripped of its staircase, stands like a modest vestige of past grandeur. The setting, though deeply integrated into the urban fabric of Bordeaux's left bank, is no less striking. Just a stone's throw from the Garonne and the main shopping streets of the old town, it's an invitation to take a contemplative break in a medieval and Renaissance Bordeaux that you'd hardly suspect behind the classical 18th-century facades that earned the city its UNESCO listing.
Architecture
The building illustrates the architectural stratification characteristic of the large middle-class Bordeaux residences of the 15th and 16th centuries. The original structure, built of local limestone, is late flamboyant Gothic, as evidenced by the polygonal stair turret and the oratory with its quadripartite pointed arch and keystone, typical features of civil architecture in Bordeaux at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries. The entrance arch to the oratory, composed of a rhythmic alternation of smooth white limestone keystones and grey stone vermiculated keystones, bears witness to the refined decorative care that distinguishes this residence from a simple merchant dwelling. Inside, one room retains its wooden ceiling beams and a mantelpiece fireplace, a common architectural feature in Renaissance bourgeois interiors, which allowed the pomp and splendour of a grand noble residence to be simulated while meeting structural constraints. The old access door to the stair turret is topped by a beautifully crafted ogival arch with Gothic infill, the last vestige of a vertical circulation system that has now disappeared. The polygonal turret itself is only visible from the outside from the first floor upwards, a probable sign that the building was set back from the courtyard, as was common in narrow medieval urban plots. The street façade, which was completely remodelled in the 18th century, conceals this Gothic and Renaissance heritage beneath a classical rendering. This double face - classical austerity on the facade, medieval richness in the heart of the block - is emblematic of the architectural palimpsest that is Old Bordeaux, a UNESCO World Heritage Site mainly for its 18th-century urban ensemble.
Related Figures
Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) — philosophe, essayiste, né dans cette maison et maire de Bordeaux de 1581 à 1585Pierre Eyquem de Montaigne (v. 1495-1568) — père de Michel, négociant anobli, propriétaire de l'ensemble immobilierFrançoise de La Chassaigne (1544-1627) — épouse de Michel de Montaigne, mariée dans cette maison en 1565Antoinette de Louppes (v. 1514-1601) — mère de Michel de Montaigne, d'origine judéo-portugaise, figure de la vie familiale bordelaiseRamon Eyquem (XVe siècle) — ancêtre fondateur de la branche bordelaise de la famille, qui constitua le premier patrimoine immobilier rue de la Rousselle
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Ancienne Maison de Montaigne located?
Ancienne Maison de Montaigne is located in Bordeaux, Gironde department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, France.
When was Ancienne Maison de Montaigne built?
Ancienne Maison de Montaigne dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Ancienne Maison de Montaigne open to visitors?
Ancienne Maison de Montaigne is currently closed to visitors.