Tonnerre Patrimoine

Hôtel d'Uzès

Probably built in the first half of the 16th century, this mansion originally belonged to the Cannelle family, members of the city's upper middle class. The name Hôtel d'Uzès is a tribute to the Countess of Tonnerre and Duchess of Uzès, Louise de Clermont, who frequently stayed here.
Barely out of the ground, the building was destroyed by a devastating fire in July 1556. It was rebuilt with even greater splendor, adding this beautifully crafted facade with its mullioned windows and bracketed tower. The only sign of the disaster is the inscription "NISI DOMINUS CUSTODIERIT DOMUM, FRUSTRA VIGILAT QUI CUSTODIT" above the door, which only makes sense in reference to Psalm 126: "Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain; unless the Lord guards the city, he who guards it watches in vain".
Until the end of the 18th century, the building was owned by some of the city's leading families. It was within these walls that the Chevalier d'Éon, Louis XV's famous spy, was born in 1728. Everything changed with the Revolution. In 1793, the dwelling was converted into a prison. Ironically, its last owner, Sieur de Chamon, was imprisoned here between 1793 and 1794.
At the end of the 19th century, the Caisse d'Epargne bought the property and embarked on a vast restoration campaign, which gave rise to a great deal of controversy, as the architect made such a mockery of the original architecture. He was criticized for adding two twisted columns on either side of the doorway, for creating a campanile (which has now disappeared) between the two roof windows in the central body, for replacing the tiles with slate, for doing away with the mullions (the fault of the tax authorities, who charge four bays for a mullioned window!) and, above all, to have inscribed in marble the date 1533 as the year in which the hotel was built, even though no one has the exact date, and above all, the original building was ravaged by fire in 1556.
The building was converted into a bank and, in 1907, a painter from Tonner, Georges-Henri Carré, was asked to decorate the boardroom. He created large bucolic scenes inspired by the seasons, as well as a panel on the upper part of the façade.