THE PALAIS ROHAN

Cardinal Armand Gaston, natural son of Louis XIV, was the first cardinal of the Rohan family to lead the bishopric of Strasbourg. He initialted the construction of a new episcopal palace. The prelate, who was a secular leader as well as a prince of the church, wanted a prestigious palace.

The design was entrusted to Robert de Cotte and the work, which was begun in 1730, spread over ten years, with the collaboration of artists and craftsmen from all over Europe. The palace takes the form of a square construction of yellow and pink sandstone, built all around a central courtyard. Its main entrance is situated practically opposite the south portal of the cathedral. On the other side its facade looks over the river Ill. In the centre there are four columns of enormous order supporting a pediment and a roof in the form of an imperial-style dome. There is a deep difference between the iconography of the sculpures on the two sides. On the cathedral side, religious and moral motifs are dominant. On the Ill side the secular motivs dominate. One of the most beautiful sculptures, a woman personifying night, is to be found in the capel to the left of the building. On the facade in the interior of the courtyard it is possible to recognize the four corners of the earth and the human temperaments, separated by the figure of a madman in the middle. These figures may be seen throughout the city on private buildings from the 18th century.

The Palais had many guests, such as Louis XV, who was the first guest in the royal apartments, and Marie-Antoinette. Bombed in 1870 and then again in 1944, the palace has regained its former splendour. The apartments include the Synod hall, the bishops’ parlour, the king’s bedroom, and the library, which can be visited along with the minor apartments. The King’s Chamber is designed according to the style of Versailles. The decor is in Rococo style. Another room worth seeing is the library, all in gold and mahogany. Parallel to the large apartments, which look over the courtyard, are the minor apartments, for instance, “the morning room”, where portraits of the Rohans hang.

Most important of all, the palace houses three extraordinary museums:
The Muséè Archéologique
The Musée des Arts Décoratifs
The Musée des Beaux-Arts.

The first is one of the most important archeological museums in France and shows Alsace from 600,000 B.C. till 800 A.D. All the objects displayed in the 21 rooms of the Museum were discovered in Alsace.
In the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, on the ground floor, one may enjoy the collection of Strasbourgeois decorative art dating from 1681 to the middle of the 19th century, as well as the cardinal’s apartments in the style of Versailles.
On the first floor of the Rohan Palace, the Museum of Fine Arts presents an overview of European painting from the Middle Ages to 1870, with works by Giotto, Boticelli, Raphael, Le Greco, Rubens, Canaletto, Tiepolo, Goya and many more.