Bishop's Palace - Troyes

The bishop's residence in Troyes is already mentioned in 1110 and the bishop's palace in 1153 .

No chronicler, no life of a saint, no charter tells of the construction of the old episcopal palace. From 1153 onwards, the bishop of Troyes resided in his "episcopal palace". The construction of the episcopal palace dates from different periods, much later than that of the cathedral . It stands on the site where the bishops of Troyes lived until the beginning of the 16th century. According to documents from this distant period, until the 16th century, the bishops lived in a relatively small house which, according to the custom of the time, was called the episcopal residence.

The oldest part of the current diocese dates from the episcopate of Jacques Raguier (1483-1518) .

The current diocese is larger than the previous one . The large building built by Mgr. Malier, to a design by Canon Maillet, resembles the buildings of the Louis XIV period. The façade is crowned by a low pediment in the middle of the crown. In the pediment are sculpted 2 lions facing each other. 7 windows light each floor.

The law of 25 July 1792, during the Revolution, found that the episcopal palaces were too large for the bishops and, under the pretext of economy, decided that these palaces would be put up for sale. As a result of the application of the law to suspects, several priests who had broken the oath were arrested. They were locked up in a room in the bishop's palace . During the Terror, they were accompanied by laymen of both sexes, without taking the trouble to separate the two. In the winter of 1798 , other rooms were used as barracks for the troops . The garden was placed at the disposal of the department to the central school for use as a botanical garden. The Concordat restored the use of the episcopal palaces to the bishops.

During the war, all the buildings were used to house wounded soldiers . A temporary hospital was set up. Major works were carried out in 1823. The chapel, which was also used as a hospital, was restored. It was Mgr. Cœur (1849-1860) who had the episcopal palace converted into its current state . In 1853, a heating system was installed. Two bridges were built over the river and a bathroom was installed. It was Mgr. Ravinet (1861-1875) who brought back from the Vatican gardens a cutting of a lime tree which, planted in the courtyard, is now a magnificent tree !

The building of the former bishopric of Troyes became the property of the department of Aube. From 1958, the inspector of the Academy was concerned with improving and presenting the hall and the magnificent staircase leading to its departments. Pierre Denizot, prefect of Aube, on behalf of the department, only began work on the building in 1968. At that time , old architectural elements were discovered. These were Romanesque elements. The presence of 2 stone benches in the cavity confirms the period. The base, the shaft and the capital with rudimentary scrolls and the torus of the arches prove that the work dates from the Romanesque period. The archaeological excavations carried out in 1980, when the Museum of Modern Art was founded , brought to light a wealth of archaeological treasures: among others, the remains of a Gallo-Roman cellar , the remains of a monumental window, Gothic ceilings, Champagne-style checkerboard brickwork, the imposing 17th-century dark oak fireplace, the formal garden, the little bridge leading to the former bishop's wash house with its turret and, in the place of honour, a magnificent lime tree taken from a cutting brought from the Vatican gardens by Mgr. Emanuel-Jules Ravinet, Bishop of Troyes (1861-1875).

Thanks to financial support from the city of Troyes (1979-1981), the Musée d'Art Moderne de Troyes moved into the former episcopal palace, which was inaugurated on 20 October 1982 by French President François Mitterrand.

Willem Vandenameele