The Palais Besenval is a baroque palace at Kronengasse 1 in the Swiss city of

Solothurn Solothurn ( ; ; ; ; ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the north-west of Switzerland on the banks of the Aare and on the foot of the Weissenstein Jura mountains. The town is ...

History

The palace is named after the brothers Johann Viktor II. Besenval (1671–1736) and Peter Joseph Besenval (1675–1736), on whose behalf the building was erected. It was built from 1703 to 1706 alongside the

Aare The Aare () or Aar () is the main tributary of the High Rhine (its discharge even exceeds that of the latter at their confluence) and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland. Its total length from its source to i ...

as a ''hotel entre cour et jardin'', modeled on French noble townhouses. The complex consists, from east to west, of the areas of the courtyard ('' Cour d’honneur''), main wing (''

Corps de Logis In architecture, a ''corps de logis'' () is the principal or main block, or central building of a mansion, country or manor house, castle, or palace. It contains the rooms of principal business, the state apartments and the ceremonial or formal ...

'') and a

Baroque garden The Baroque garden was a style of garden based upon symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. The style originated in the late-16th century in Italy, in the gardens of the Vatican and the Villa Borghese gardens in Rome and in the ...

. The south facade of the two-storey palace facing the Aare is designed almost symmetrically.Stefan Blank: ''«Der allhiesigen Statt eine Zierd» – Zur Geschichte und Bedeutung des Palais Besenval in Solothurn.'' In: Andrea Nold (editor): ''Archäologische Ausgrabungen im Garten des Palais Besenval in Solothurn: Ein Quartier an der Aare vom Mittelalter bis in die Neuzeit.'' Solothurn: Amt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie, 2009, p.81–91.
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After the death of the Besenval brothers in 1736, the palace passed to Peter Joseph's daughter Maria Johanna Margaritha Viktoria Besenval (1704–1793). She married the later mayor Franz Viktor Augustin von Roll (1700–1773), which brought the Palais to the von Roll family. Her only son Franz Joseph von Roll (1743-1815) took over the inheritance in 1793 and passed it on to his youngest son Friedrich von Roll (1773-1845) in 1815. During the Roll era, the Besenval coat of arms on the south facade gable was probably removed. The canton of Solothurn bought the property in 1829 and the building became the residence of the

Bishop of Basel The Diocese of Basel (; ) is a Latin Church, Latin Catholic diocese in Switzerland. Historically, the bishops of Basel were also secular rulers of the Prince-Bishopric of Basel (). Today the diocese of Basel includes the Swiss Cantons of Switze ...

. He resided in the palace until the ''

Kulturkampf In the history of Germany, the ''Kulturkampf'' (Cultural Struggle) was the seven-year political conflict (1871–1878) between the Catholic Church in Germany led by Pope Pius IX and the Kingdom of Prussia led by chancellor Otto von Bismarck. Th ...

'' in 1873. From 1879 the building served as a student food house of the

Kantonsschule Solothurn The Kantonsschule Solothurn is a Gymnasium (school), gymnasium in the municipality of Solothurn, Switzerland. With approximately 1,800 students (stand: 2007) it is among the biggest schools in Switzerland. The current principal is Stefan Zumbrunn ...

. After a public discussion about a possible demolition, the building was renovated and restored from 1950 to 1952 and then used by the cantonal administration. In 1988/89 the palace was renovated for use as a cantonal cultural center until 2000. It was renovated in 2005/06 and has since been used as a restaurant and seminar center. Before this renovation, an archaeological investigation of the area was carried out, which revealed a section of the medieval city wall.

External links

''Die Geschichte des Palais Besenval''

References

{{Authority control Baroque architecture in Switzerland Buildings and structures in the canton of Solothurn Buildings and structures completed in the 1700s 18th-century architecture in Switzerland

History

Further reading

External links

References