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A little history of Sens townhouse

The façade | Anecdotrip.com / CC-BY-NC-SA
Town house Sens townhouse in Paris

Aah, the Middle-Ages, in the heart of Paris... Here is a rare testimony of medieval architecture, in the city...

Etienne Becquard de Penoul, archbishop of Sens, owned the first city house in 1296. He bought it from Pierre Marcel, uncle of the famous Etienne Marcel, Paris' provost. So, who were those archbishops?

In the 13th century, Sens (in Burgundy) became an archbishopric.

Archbishops were very important, and in order to assert their power, they needed a seat in Paris, near kings of France. King Charles V owned the house in 1366.

He gave in exchange 10 000 livres to the archbishops and the Hestomesnil town house, in the rue du Figuier.

This house was in ruin, so Tristan de Salazar, bishop of Sens, rebuilt it between 1474 and 1519. In 1622, the city house was abandoned.

The last archbishop lived here in 1648 and then... king Henri IV allowed his ex-wife, queen Margot, to live here in 1605.

In the 19th century, the house was converted into a laundry, a canning factory and... a "rabbit hairs cutter", for caps maker!

Paris city bought it in 1911 and in 1961, the Forney library moved in.

About the the author

Vinaigrette
I'm fond of strolls and History, with juicy and spicy details!