Hôtel de Brucelles, Private mansion in Toulouse, France
The Hôtel de Brucelles is a private mansion in Toulouse featuring a polygonal staircase tower and a brick turret decorated with stone carvings. The structure combines Gothic and Renaissance elements, with superimposed galleries displaying classical architectural orders arranged vertically.
The house was built in 1544 for cloth merchant Arnaud de Brucelles, who served as capitoul of Toulouse from 1534 to 1535. It received official historical monument status in 1925.
The house displays sculpted busts above the entrance and windows showing figures dressed in classical and 16th-century style. These representations convey values like virtue and social standing that the owner and his family wished to express.
The house stands at 19 rue des Changes, in the merchant quarter of the historic centre. It is a private residence, so the courtyard, staircase tower and galleries are not open to visitors; the brick facade, the carved doorway and the busts in their niches are what can be seen from the street.
The stacked galleries display different classical architectural orders arranged vertically in a specific sequence from bottom to top. This rare arrangement of column styles reflects the learning and taste of the person who commissioned the building.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,814 contributors worldwide.
