Hôtel dit de la Faïencerie
MonumentHidden Treasure
Hôtel dit de la Faïencerie, 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
- 44.8462, -0.5776
- Mérimée Reference
- PA33000109
The last vestige of a vast 18th-century Bordeaux estate, the Hôtel de la Faïencerie unfurls its classical elegance between the Cours de Verdun and the public garden, a silent witness to the great Bordeaux century.
History
At the heart of Bordeaux, where the cours de Verdun runs alongside the jardin public, stands a discreet yet history-laden building: the hôtel de la Faïencerie. Listed as a Monument Historique since 2009, this mid-eighteenth-century building is today the sole survivor of a once considerable architectural ensemble, which spread across several blocks between the rue Fondaudège, the rue Dumas, the present-day rue Hustin, and the cours de Verdun. Its survival, in a city that underwent significant urban transformation during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, is nothing short of miraculous. What makes the hôtel de la Faïencerie truly singular is precisely this status as a remnant. Whilst its contemporaries were absorbed into the urban fabric or razed during the great Haussmann-inspired works that reshaped Bordeaux, this hôtel particulier endured, preserving the proportions and architectural vocabulary of Bordeaux classicism in all its refined restraint. Its evocative name recalls a craft and commercial activity that left a profound mark on the port city during the Age of Enlightenment. The hôtel comprises two complementary building wings: the principal one presents its arrangement facing the cours de Verdun, with an upper storey and roof space characteristic of eighteenth-century Bordeaux civic architecture. The second, narrower wing is perpendicular to it and opens onto the rue Hustin, forming an L-shaped ensemble that hints at the interior organisation of a bourgeois residence of considerable standing. For the curious visitor, the hôtel de la Faïencerie is best appreciated by strolling along the cours de Verdun, a stone's throw from the jardin public. The setting lends itself to a contemplative walk, where the limestone façade enters into a natural dialogue with the neighbouring greenery. Those with an interest in urban history will find in it a precious document in stone of what the great Bordeaux of the eighteenth century once looked like, before successive developments transformed its character.
Architecture
The Hôtel de la Faïencerie is fully in keeping with Bordeaux's classical architecture of the 18th century, characterised by sober elegance and compositional rigour inherited from the French tradition. The main building, on the Cours de Verdun, has a single storey elevation topped by an attic, typical of the private mansion of the Bordeaux merchant bourgeoisie. Local limestone, with its fine grain and characteristic blond hue, is probably the dominant material, giving the building the luminous sobriety typical of the façades of old Bordeaux. The second building, perpendicular to the first and facing onto rue Hustin, is more modest in scale, narrower by southern standards. This angled layout was common in 18th-century middle-class residences: it allowed the service areas and common areas to be set back from the facade, while at the same time defining an inner courtyard or open space. The articulation between these two volumes is one of the building's major architectural interests. The decorative elements on the façade - window frames, cornice modelling, any wrought-iron balconies or mascarons - although not precisely documented, most probably reflect the stylistic canons of regional classicism, influenced by the major projects of the intendants of Guyenne and by architects such as Gabriel and Bonfin, who worked to embellish Bordeaux during the Age of Enlightenment.
Related Figures
Les intendants de Guyenne (Tourny, notamment), promoteurs du grand embellissement de Bordeaux au XVIIIe siècle dont l'hôtel est contemporainLes faïenciers bordelais du XVIIIe-XIXe siècle, dont l'activité a donné son nom à l'édificeLes architectes de l'école bordelaise classique (dans la lignée de Richard et Bonfin), probables inspirateurs de la conceptionLes négociants bordelais enrichis par le commerce atlantique, commanditaires présumés de l'ensemble original
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Hôtel dit de la Faïencerie located?
Hôtel dit de la Faïencerie is located in Bordeaux, Gironde department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, France.
When was Hôtel dit de la Faïencerie built?
Hôtel dit de la Faïencerie dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Hôtel dit de la Faïencerie open to visitors?
Hôtel dit de la Faïencerie is currently closed to visitors.
