The Hotel d'Hane-Steenhuyse is an 18th-century hôtel particulier (grand townhouse) in the Belgian city of Ghent. It is located in the Veldstraat and was formerly owned by the D'Hane de Steenhuyse family.
History
The building was built in 1768–1773 by Jan Baptist Simoens, who designed and built the rear facade and the salle à l'italienne. The facade may have been designed by David 't Kindt, but archival evidence of this has not been found. Around the beginning of the 19th century, the building was used by the nobility. In 1815, King Louis XVIII, in exile from France, resided in and held court from the hotel. Afterward he thanks his host with the gifts of a porcelain dessert service that is now kept in the Ghent City Museum ("STAM").
In the twentieth century the hotel fell into disuse. In 1949, it housed the unsuccessful Museum of the Hundred Days.
In 1981, the building came in the possession of the city of Ghent, which used it first for an information center and later the Monuments Management Service. In the 1990s it underwent a thorough renovation but public access remained limited. In 2015, the ground floor was opened for commercial activities.
Owners
Three generations of the D'Hane de Steenhuyse family built the hotel: Count Emmanuel Ignace d'Hane (1702–1771): main building and facade Count Pierre Emmanuel d'Hane de Leeuwergem (1726–1786): extension and garden facade Count Jean-Baptiste d'Hane de Steenhuyse (1757–1826): decoration and interior decoration After the extinction of the male line, the building passed into the hands of Valerie van Pottelsberghe de la Potterie.
Famous guests
Under Jean-Baptiste the building was visited by various famous European figures: 1803: Talleyrand, who accompanied first consul Bonaparte during his visit to the former Austrian Netherlands 1811: Jérôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia 1814: Alexander I, tsar of Russia 1814: John Quincy Adams, at a dinner for the English and American delegations who had negotiated the Treaty of Ghent 1815: Louis XVIII, the French king fleeing from Napoleon during the Hundred Days 1815: François René de Châteaubriand, member of Louis XVIII's entourage 1815: the newly crowned King of the Netherlands, William I, and his wife Wilhelmina during their Joyous Entry in Ghent (September 5, 1815) 1818: Prince William II of the Netherlands
Description
Floor plan
The building was constructed on the gradually acquired plots of older houses, with a goal of maximizing utilization of the available space, leading to the irregular shape and central protrusion of the facade.
The floor plan was also adjusted to fit between neighboring buildings. Most similar hotels featured a central entrance that provided access to the vestibule. The vestibule would be oriented perpendicular to the facade, and rooms would lead off it symmetrically to the left and right.
The Hotel d'Hane-Steenhuyse, abandons this symmetrical floor plan. The only access to the building is via a carriageway, which is located at one end of the facade (directly beside an adjacent building). This alley opens onto a garden-facing enfilade located behind the building. The vestibule door opens onto the carriageway, and the vestibule is oriented perpendicularly to the carriageway and parallel to the facade.
The rooms were not only accessible individually via the vestibule, they also shared doors with one another, forming an enfilade. There was also a system of hidden passageways, allowing staff discreet access to the rooms.
In addition, the building has a courtyard with a terrace. This was laid out in 1773 in pure Louis XVI style.
Facades
The building has two facades. The main facade in Louis XV style faces the "Veldstraat". It contains both baroque and rococo elements. The facade has a protruding middle part with Corinthian half-pilasters and a segment arch pediment.
The rear facade is in neoclassical Louis XVI style. Unlike the front facade, the rear facade has three horizontal sections. The bottom section is conceived as a pedestal. The facade has pilasters and a pediment. It is adjacent to the courtyard.
Rooms
The ground floor rooms were designed to be public-facing. They consist of salons and halls typical of the rich upper class society of the time. The high ballroom "à l'italienne" is particularly richly decorated, with painted ceilings, mirrors, an honorary staircase, and a parquet floor signed by Henri Feylt.