The Hotel de Ligneris, located in the heart of Chartres, is the home of the Eurelian prefects and the seat of the prefectoral cabinet and plays a central role in the representation of the State in Eure-et-Loir.
Located in the immediate vicinity of the Cathedral, the media library or the departmental council, this is a well-known place in the center of Chartres.
Part I: historic residence of prefects and prefecture
The Hotel de Ligneris is not the original building where the prefect took up residence.
When Napoleon, then First Consul, created this new state body, the prefect of Eure-et-Loir was installed in the building of the bishopric of Chartres. This building is now known to house the Museum of Fine Arts.
The place will only host the prefecture for 21 years. The restoration in 1821 of the diocese of Chartres transferred the property of the state episcopal palace to the Church. The prefecture must then find a new place to settle.
It was finally rue de l'Ortie, known today as rue «Collin-d'Harleville», that the prefect chose to rent a mansion in 1821. The place was bought from its owners by the State in 1823 and became the definitive property of the prefecture of Eure-et-Loir. The Hotel de Ligneris has been the seat of prefects for 200 years.
Part II: the legacy of Jean Moulin
The geographical proximity of Chartres with Paris, has earned the hotel many visits from famous men and women.
Yet no character who has passed through the Hotel de Ligneris is more illustrious than Jean Moulin. Appointed Prefect of Eure-et-Loir in February 1939 at just 40 years old, he assumed the difficult role of prefect in a war context. It must manage the supply and assistance of the population, but also the arrival of German troops.
On June 17, 1940, Jean Moulin committed his first act of resistance. Captured and tortured by the Germans to make him recognize abuses falsely attributed to Senegalese riflemen, he will not give in to the enemy. Returning to the prefecture, he continued in his role before being relieved of his duties in November 1940. He then joined the Resistance.
The legacy left by Jean Moulin is still very strong within the Hotel de Ligneris. His office and prefect’s costume have been preserved and are displayed in one of the rooms of the prefecture. There are also some drawings he may have made, signed with his alias «Romanin».
The memory of Jean Moulin is in the same way extremely present in Chartres, as with the monument of the broken sword paying tribute to him and which adjoins the hotel of Ligneris.
Part III: Current use of the building by the prefecture
The development of administrative services in the post-war period had an unsuspected consequence: the Hotel de Ligneris could no longer permit the optimal functioning of the prefecture’s services. It is on this observation that will be decided the construction between 1975 and 1979 of a new place dedicated to the prefectoral body chartrain. The administrative services and the reception to the public move Place de la République, leaving to the hotel of Ligneris the cabinet and the apartments of the prefect.
Today, the hotel hosts ceremonies, meetings and is the venue for the reception of visiting ministers in the Eure-et-Loir.
The Jean Moulin room is a room designed to be operational and is dedicated to meetings between State services but also to crisis management.
Larger and more richly decorated rooms allow the reception of events, such as meetings with elected officials or the signing of agreements:
The small salon allows to receive to lunch the elected officials, the prefectoral body or the ministers The salon is traditionally the place of speeches and wishes of the prefect The large salon allows to organize meetings and press conferences
The Hotel de Ligneris is therefore a building with a rich history, which almost completely retraces the prefectoral presence in the department.
Today, its function remains that of welcoming part of the prefecture’s services, while allowing to make available to the Eurelian prefects a prestigious place to ensure the representation of the State.