Hôtel Chambellan, Gothic private mansion in historical center, Dijon, France

The Hôtel Chambellan is a private residence built in flamboyant Gothic style, featuring a two-story wooden gallery and a ribbed vaulted corridor that runs through the interior. The carved stonework on the facade and throughout the building displays the detailed craftsmanship typical of 15th-century Dijon.

Henri Chambellan, a wealthy Dijon cloth merchant, was vicomte-majeur of Dijon from 1490 to 1493 and later a counselor at the Chambre des comptes; he turned the former dwelling into a luxurious residence. The hôtel has been classified as a monument historique since 1913, and its chapel since 1917. The City of Dijon owned it from 1913 until 2008, when it was sold to private owner Philippe Bernard; it stayed closed to the public except on heritage days until 2018, when it was restored and a shop installed.

The name of the carved figure on the staircase vault is a local curiosity: Dijon calls him "le jardinier" (the gardener), because he carries a hood, not a basket, on his shoulder. The liernes and tiercerons of the vault appear to spring from this hood. The mansion has been privately owned since 2008 and opened to a shop after 2018 works.

The mansion sits on Rue des Forges in the historic center and is reachable only on foot. Since it remains private property, you can view the exterior facade from the street, but be respectful of the residents' privacy.

At the top of the stone spiral staircase, ribbed vaults rise from a hood carried on the shoulder of a carved man. In Dijon this figure is nicknamed "the gardener". The liernes and tiercerons of the vaulting appear to spring from the hood itself.