Hôtel particulier

Mansion in France is a fixed architectural concept, without having found a literal counterpart in the German language.

Content refers to the mansion, the town house of the 17th and 18th century, the wealthy members of the nobility, clergy, and in the 18th century in some cases of privileged bourgeois officials. The majority of the urban private houses of the Third Estate was designated as particulier Maison particulière in contrast to the Hôtel.

His rural counterpart finds the Hôtel Château, a manor house.

Term

The term of the mansion is made up of the word hôtel (French; altfrz. Hostel, Latin: hospitalis, neulat.: hospitale = hospitably ) and the word particulier (French: private). This is the concept of privacy, unlike today, not as a counterpart to the Professional.

This apparent contradiction is clarified in the two basic functions, which had to meet the mansion: the representation within the public life of society and the withdrawal of the members of the family a house.

These functions correspond to the different apartments and their weighting. In addition to the rooms that served the residential (apartment privé ), filled the parade apartment (apartment de parade ) the object of the representation of the family. The character of the mansion was first and foremost a public. The public in the Ancien Regime was constituted by the aristocratic members of the courtly environment. All the others were excluded from it and lived as " outsiders" private.

In German, the term city palace is used for the mansion. In France, the Hôtel particulier is distinguished from the term palace. In contrast to the owner of Hôtel Palais is entitled to the royal household. This was in France only a few members of the royal family and the high clergy. From the requirements of a royal household and the associated representation tasks followed with regard to size, number and differentiation of the rooms of an apartment different spatial dispositions. These requirements went into a palace quantitatively and qualitatively on the measure of a Hôtels addition.

Type and development

The typological basic form of the Hôtel particulier is on in the years 1544-1546 by Sebastiano Serlio for Hippolytus II d'Este (1509-1572), the intermarried with the House of Valois and friendship with King Francis I joined Cardinal of Ferrara at the Château de Fontainebleau, built Hôtel de Ferrare ( Grand Hôtel de Ferrare ) is returned. This was in France for more than two centuries to the model of the townhouse for the privileged members of the caste system. Starting from Paris, this building type developed in the 16th and 17th centuries. In the 18th century, the mansion on the European model of the prestigious house.

In architecture, the term also the typological description of the arrangement of the building complex is on the functional description also.

The original rationale forms a U-shaped grouping of three buildings. The middle part of the building was designated as corps de logis. In the 18th century this part of the Dreiflügelbaues was also called Palais. This Mittelbau combines the following on both sides of wings. Together they enclose the Cour d' Entrée out on three sides. In the 18th century, the original building was completed as a three-wing position by another building and completed the yard to the street. Access is through a centrally located target. Closed at the back of the Corps de Logis is usually the garden at.

The formal and symmetrical design and grouping of the building corresponds to the internal structure of the Hôtel particulier. In general, there are the state rooms in the central main building, the corps de logis. The lateral, often narrower and symmetrically arranged wings served the recording of the living and sleeping rooms, the apartments privées the lady and the man of the house. The fourth wing later attached to the street was home to generally as stable or kitchen Building subordinate and serving areas.

In addition to numerous changes in the weighting and indexing of spaces over the long time in the existence of this type of building, one of the fundamental changes at the beginning of the 18th century is the introduction of another apartment type. For ceremonial used parade apartment (apartment de parade ) and the retreat serving private apartment (apartment privé ), which in the 18th century called the Appartement de comodité and bathrooms ( Appartement de Bains ) was expanded, the company apartment (apartment de société ) was added. It served the convivial entertainment.

In Paris in particular remained until the 18th century in the districts Marais, Faubourg Saint- Honoré and the Faubourg Saint- Germain, a large number of art-historical importance city residences from the period of the late 15th. The Marais district was socially acceptable in the 17th century after King Henry IV had set an urban accent to the Place des Vosges.

In the second half of the 17th century, a counter trend can be observed: With the increasing expression of the absolute monarchy, the nobility was referenced in his place and gave up the ostentatious displays of rank and wealth. The nobility settled in larger systems such as the Place Vendôme; Exceptions were the relatives of the king.

In the 18th century more palaces were rebuilt, but now mainly located in the western, then located on the city outskirts Faubourg Saint- Germain and the Faubourg Saint- Honoré. Externally restrained, the buildings revel in the interior in a playful Rococo.