. The archbishop was a prominent figure of power, his residence reflecting his influence within the urban landscape.
A first hôtel, at this location, was built for the archbishops of Sens in 1345, which was later used by
Louis de Lorraine, Nicolas de Pellevé (who died in the hôtel) or Jacques Davy Duperron. Margaret of Valois also lived there in 1605 and 1606, and her decision to cut down a fig tree (figuier) in front of the building that was impeding her carriage, is said to have inspired the name of the street, rue du Figuier.[2]
The 1830 cannonball lodged in the main facade.
In 1622, Paris became an archdiocese. The archbishops of Sens lost the major part of their power in the city, and their sojourns in Paris became progressively less frequent. The hôtel, transferred during the 17th century to the
Trois Glorieuses
street fights of 1830, a cannonball hit the facade and lodged deep within the wall ; it is visible nowadays above the main entrance, the date engraved beneath.
Protected as a heritage site in 1862, the building was acquired by the city of Paris, and thoroughly restored in 1930. The Forney art library was installed in it in 1961.
Notes
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hôtel de Sens.
^Juliette Faure, Le Marais, Éditions L'Harmattan, 1998, p. 26
^Leonard Pitt, Promenades dans le Paris disparu, Paris, Parigramme, 2002, p.154.
