Palais Rohan, Bordeaux

The Palais Rohan is the name of the Hôtel de Ville, or City Hall, of Bordeaux, France. Built from 1771 to 1784, it was in former times the Archbishop's Palace.

History

In 1771, the new Archbishop of Bordeaux, Ferdinand Maximilien Mériadec, prince of Rohan, decided to rebuilt the old medieval archbishopric, not enough worthy of its rank.

Designed by the architect Richard-François Bonfin, it took 13 years to build and was completed in 1784. It is a hotel particulier, "entre cour et jardin" (between Courtyard and Garden), and features an austere Louis XVI-style façade. Its staircase is considered a masterpiece of stone masonry.

After the French Revolution, the building housed in 1791 the Gironde department prefecture before becoming the Bordeaux Town Hall in 1835.

Designed in 1889, the municipal council room is characteristic of official architecture during the Third Republic.

The garden, initially designed in the French formal style, now takes on an English landscape style. Since 1880, it has been bordered by two wings that house the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux.

Address: Place Pey Berland, 33000 Bordeaux, France
Opened: 1784
Hours: 5PM ⋅ Opens 9AM Wed
Architectural style: Neoclassical architecture
Architect: Richard-François Bonfin