Founded in the 12th century by Count Henri I le Libéral (1125-1181), this building was formerly known as the Hôtel-Dieu hospital.
Troyes
It also bore the name Maison-Dieu-Saint-Étienne, as it was created at around the same time as the neighboring collegiate church of Saint-Étienne and the chapel of the palace of the Counts of Champagne. These exceptional 12th-century buildings, which stood on the site of today's Place du Préau, were unfortunately destroyed when the Haute-Seine canal was built in 1806.
The Hôtel-Dieu, renovated and enlarged several times over the course of its history, then completely rebuilt in the 18th century, was one of the largest in France. The rooms were distributed according to their function: men's ward, women's ward, chapel and apothecary.
The chapel was built on the foundations of the Porte de la Girouarde (demolished in 1605), through which the via Agrippa (now rue de la Cité) exited the city walls, heading west (towards Provins and Paris). The façade features two sundials dating from 1764, making it one of the most accurate in France.
The large main courtyard, surrounded on three sides by buildings with fine classical facades, is enclosed by a magnificent Louis XV-style gate executed in 1760 by Pierre Delphin, a master locksmith from Paris, and listed as a Monument Historique.
Among the superb gilded arabesques are escutcheons bearing the coats of arms of France, the city of Troyes under the count's crown, and notable 18th-century donors.
On the rue de la Cité side, the wall bears a fragment of the inscription ENFA[NT], the only vestige of the "Tour d'abandon", a sort of turnstile in which, before the 1789 Revolution, babies abandoned to the care of the hospital could be deposited.
The Hôtel-Dieu remained in use until 1988, but was classified as a historic monument in 1885.
Last updated on 29/11/2023 - Troyes La Champagne Tourisme