Castle Map

Palace

Palais Jacques-Cœur

France · 15th century

Founded
1443
Style
Gothic architecture
Heritage status
classified historical monument
Location
Bourges
Coordinates
47.0847°, 2.39405°
Links
OpenStreetMap · Wikimedia Commons
Open on the map →Official website ↗Wikipedia ↗
Palais Jacques-Cœur in France
Photo: Remi Mathis · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Description

The Palais Jacques Cœur (French pronunciation: [palɛ ʒɑk kœʁ]; lit. 'Jacques Cœur Palace') is a large hôtel particulier built by Jacques Cœur for himself and his family in Bourges, France. Built and decorated in the flamboyant style, it is widely viewed as one of the most prominent examples of French civilian architecture in the 15th century.

Jacques Cœur, who was born in Bourges and started his career there, bought the land in 1443 from Jean Belin, a canon of the Sainte-Chapelle de Bourges. Cœur did not have time to enjoy it, however, as he was arrested in 1451, tried and subsequently exiled. Construction works were completed in 1453, at a time he was imprisoned. King Charles VII seized the property as Cœur was sentenced, but restored it to Cœur's children in 1457, after Cœur himself had died in exile the year before.

In 1501, one of Jacques Cœur's grandsons sold it to Antoine Turpin, a local notable, who in turn sold it in 1552 to diplomat Claude de l'Aubespine, baron de Châteauneuf. In May 1679, it was attributed to Jean-Baptiste Colbert, who in January 1682 returned it to the City of Bourges. After that, it hosted various municipal services.

The palace suffered some damage during the French Revolution, when the large equestrian statue of Charles VII above the main entrance was destroyed. In 1820, it became a court house, hosting the tribunal d'instance and the cour d'appel of the Cher department. Prosper Mérimée identified it in 1837 as a major cultural property, and it was subsequently listed on France's first list of historic monuments of 1840. The Bourges municipality sold it to the département and the state in 1858, after which a first restoration campaign lasted until 1885.

In the 1920s, the Cher département sold its share to the French state and the court activities were discontinued. A second, much more careful restoration campaign was led by architects Henri Huignard and Robert Gauchery from 1927 to 1937. The stonework was again cleaned up in the early 2000s.

The Palais Jacques Cœur is now managed by the Centre des monuments nationaux and open to the public as a major local tourism attraction.

Text adapted from “Palais Jacques Cœur” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

In the rankings

Palais Jacques-Cœur ranks #1,999 of 9,902 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #145 of the 954 mapped in France. Founded 1443, it is older than 49% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 596 atlas entries founded in the 15th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 3,021 times in the last 60 days, more than 81% of the atlas. 2 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Orléans, 98 km away. It is one of the 87 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of the Loire Valley. See how France compares in the castle statistics.

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