Hôtel des Deux-Ponts


The Hôtel des Deux-Ponts, formerly known as the Hôtel Gayot and currently as the Hôtel du gouverneur militaire, is a historic building located on Place Broglie on the Grande Île in the city center of Strasbourg, in the French department of the Bas-Rhin. It has been classified as a Monument historique since 1921.
The Hôtel des Deux-Ponts is currently used as the official residence of the military governor of Strasbourg.

History

The Hôtel was designed as a hôtel particulier for the brothers, royal moneylenders François-Marie Gayot and Félix-Anne Gayot and built in 1754-55 featuring a courtyard, two ornate façades, a grand portal and a French garden. In 1770, it was sold by François-Marie Gayot to count palatine Christian IV of Zweibrücken. Maximilian Joseph of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, the future King Maximilian I of Bavaria lived there from 1770 until 1790. His son and successor on the Bavarian throne, Ludwig I of Bavaria, was born in this palace on 25 August 1786.
The hôtel became state-owned in the wake of the French Revolution in 1791 and has served as the official residence for military governors and chiefs of staff since, including during the periods when Strasbourg was a German town again. It is not open for tourists apart on special days such as European Heritage Days.

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