Episcopal Palace, Strasbourg

The Episcopal Palace in Strasbourg, France, formerly called the Hotel du grand Doyenné, is the seat of the Archdiocese of Strasbourg and the residence and workplace of its archbishop. It was built between 1724 and 1732 in the French Baroque style for Frederic Constantin de La Tour Auvergne, dean of Strasbourg Cathedral grand chapter, designed by Robert de Cotte with Auguste Malo-Saussard as executive architect. Its two nearly identical ornate facades, grand portal, large courtyard and small garden made it the model for the many stately eighteenth century townhouses, or hotels particuliers, that followed it in Strasbourg. Confiscated during the French Revolution, the palace was acquired by the Church in 1855 and has been protected as a monument historique since 1929.