- Type
- Palace / château
- Built
- 1780 · 18th century
- Style
- Neoclassical architecture
- Architect
- Nicolas-Alexandre Salins
- Coordinates
- 48.7422°, 7.3633°
History
Saverne was a residence of the Prince-Bishops of Strasbourg from the 13th century, and their medieval castle, recorded in 1387, was rebuilt many times; after damage in the Peasants' War of 1525 the residence was rebuilt, and in 1667–1670 it was replaced by a four-winged palace for Bishop Franz Egon von Fürstenberg. In the 18th century four successive bishops from the Rohan family enlarged it in Baroque style and laid out a park with a four-kilometre canal, but on the night of 7–8 September 1779 the palace burned down with all its furnishings. Cardinal Louis René Édouard de Rohan, of the Affair of the Diamond Necklace, had a new Neoclassical building raised on the site in 1780–1790 to designs by Nicolas-Alexandre Salins de Montfort, but the Revolution stopped work before the interiors were finished. Nationalised and partly pulled down, the building was saved by Napoleon III, who had it completed in 1853–1857 as a home for the widows of senior officials and officers. From 1871 it was used by the army, first German and then French, and in 1952 it was returned to the town of Saverne; it has been a listed monument since 1933.
What to see
The palace houses the town museum, with a large archaeology department, collections of history and art, and the collection given by Louise Weiss. Other wings hold a youth hostel and the Espace Rohan, a 500-seat performance hall. On the town side a courtyard behind wrought-iron railings leads to the entrance, and from the former park one sees the 140-metre façade with its Corinthian columns; of the old interiors mainly the entrance hall, the staircase, a ballroom and the vaulted cellars survive.
Wikipedia article Wikidata Q1670612
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