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Hôtel des Monnaies, Paris

Buildings and structures in the 6th arrondissement of ParisNeoclassical architecture in Paris
Monnaie de Paris
Monnaie de Paris

The Hôtel des Monnaies is an 18th-century building located at 11 Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, which has housed the Monnaie de Paris (the Paris Mint) since its construction. It is considered a prime example of pre-Revolutionary French Neoclassical architecture. The building is the masterwork of the architect Jacques Denis Antoine (1733–1801), who in 1765 bested Étienne-Louis Boullée and François Dominique Barreau de Chefdeville in a competition to design it. Though it was his first major civic project his design later won him admission to the Académie royale d'architecture. Demolition of the Hôtel de Conti, which had occupied the site since 1580, was begun in 1768. The first stone was laid by Abbé Joseph Marie Terray on 30 April 1771. The riverside façade was completed in 1773, and the whole exterior and most of the interior by 1775. The building is typified by its heavy external rustication and severe decorative treatment. It boasts one of the longest façades on the Seine; its appearance has been likened to the Italian palazzo tradition. The building, which housed mint workshops, administrative rooms, and residential quarters, wraps around a large interior courtyard. It remains open to the public and includes a numismatics museum, located within what was once the main foundry.

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Hôtel des Monnaies, Paris
Quai de Conti, Paris 6th Arrondissement (Paris)

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 48.856944444444 ° E 2.3391666666667 °
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Address

Quai de Conti

Quai de Conti
75006 Paris, 6th Arrondissement (Paris)
Ile-de-France, France
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Monnaie de Paris
Monnaie de Paris
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Tour de Nesle
Tour de Nesle

The Tour de Nesle or Nesle's Tower was one of the four large guard towers on the old city wall of Paris, constructed at the beginning of the 13th century by Philip II of France and demolished in 1665. The tower was situated on the left (south) bank of the Seine facing the old castle of the Louvre on the opposite bank. Originally known as the Tour Hamelin, it was a cylindrical structure of approximately 10 metres in diameter. The height was around 25 metres, with a stair turret reaching higher still. Later, the tower was incorporated into the Hôtel de Nesle, a medieval mansion. On the right bank of the Seine river, was a similar tall tower : the Tour du Coin (=Corner tower). The towers protected the upstream approach into the city towards the Île de la Cité. In 1308, Philip IV bought the tower from Amaury de Nesle. In 1314, there occurred a scandal known as the Tour de Nesle affair (fr:Affaire de la tour de Nesle), during which the daughters-in-law of Philip IV, were accused of adultery. Much of the adultery was said to have occurred in the Tour de Nesle. The scandal led to torture, executions and imprisonments for the princesses' lovers and the imprisonment of the princesses, with lasting consequences for the final years of the House of Capet. In 1319, Philip V donated the building to his Queen Jeanne de Bourgogne (the one accused who was found innocent) and she, in her will, left it for the College of Burgundy, which she founded for the University of Paris. Demolished in 1665, mansion and tower became the place of the Collège des Quatre-Nations (later occupied by the Institut de France) with the Bibliothèque Mazarine.