Chambre de Commerce
MonumentHidden Treasure
Chambre de Commerce, located in Tours (Indre-et-Loire), 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
- Tours, Indre-et-Loire, Centre-Val de Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.3952, 0.6879
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00098137
In the heart of Tours, this 18th-century consular hotel conceals, behind its unassuming façade, a medieval vaulted cloth hall and drawing rooms adorned with ceremonial paintings of classic elegance.
© Wikimedia Commons
History
Discreet from the street, the Hôtel de la Chambre de Commerce de Tours reveals its splendour to those who pass through its gates. Built in the third quarter of the 18th century on land where Touraine merchants had established their cloth market since the mid-17th century, this consular building embodies the quiet power of a merchant city that, in the Age of Enlightenment, knew how to give its institutions a home worthy of their rank. What distinguishes this monument from most French consular buildings is the superimposition of two periods that can be read in a single place: on the ground floor of the southern wing, the former cloth market remains almost intact, a vast vaulted hall whose six arches fall onto five prismatic pillars with a medieval rigour. This fragment of Merchant Gothic, set in a classical setting, is one of Touraine's most striking architectural curiosities. Upstairs, the state rooms reveal an ambitious decorative programme: painted panels, ornate ceilings, chiselled wrought-iron railings. The ambition of the notables to match the splendour of the aristocratic private mansions while asserting a collective and commercial identity is apparent. The paintings on the ceiling of the commercial court hearing room, by Maurice Mathurin, and the panels by the painter Souiller in the meeting room make up a coherent and remarkable decorative ensemble. The tour, which is short but dense, will appeal to lovers of classical architecture as well as those with a passion for economic and social history. Tours, the capital of Touraine and a city of art and history, offers here a rare insight into the culture of the Kingdom's merchant elite in the 18th century, far removed from royal pomp but not without grace.
Architecture
The Hôtel de la Chambre de Commerce adopts the canonical plan of the hotel between courtyard and street, organised into four main buildings around a central rectangular courtyard. This layout, inherited from the French architectural tradition of the Grand Siècle and perfected in the eighteenth century, allows a clear distinction to be made between the representative space (the courtyard facades) and the sober reserve imposed by commercial usage (the street facade). On the street side, the facade is deliberately restrained: ornamentation is limited to a carved shell above the entrance door - a Rococo motif typical of the mid-18th century - and a triangular pediment featuring the coat of arms of the city of Tours. This sparing use of decoration reflects a consular aesthetic that emphasises dignity without ostentation. By contrast, the courtyard façades feature a more elaborate classical vocabulary, with rhythmic bays, carefully designed window surrounds and a clear hierarchy of levels. The most remarkable architectural feature is undoubtedly the large vaulted hall on the ground floor of the southern wing, a former cloth market that has been preserved in its medieval or Renaissance state: two naves separated by six semi-circular arches resting on five prismatic pillars create a space of great structural simplicity. Upstairs, the staircase with its wrought iron banister, a work of wrought ironwork typical of 18th-century Touraine, leads to the drawing rooms, whose painted ceilings and ornate panels reveal the full extent of the building's decorative ambitions.
Related Figures
Les marchands drapiers de Tours (XVIIe siècle) — fondateurs de la halle aux draps et initiateurs du projetSouiller — peintre auteur des panneaux décoratifs de la salle de réunion de la Chambre de commerceMaurice Mathurin — peintre auteur du plafond de la salle d'audiences du tribunal de commerceLes membres de la Chambre de commerce de Tours (XVIIIe siècle) — commanditaires de la reconstruction de l'hôtelLes juges-consuls du tribunal de commerce de Tours — utilisateurs et co-commanditaires du décor intérieur
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Chambre de Commerce located?
Chambre de Commerce is located in Tours, Indre-et-Loire department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
When was Chambre de Commerce built?
Chambre de Commerce dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Chambre de Commerce open to visitors?
Chambre de Commerce is currently closed to visitors.