Hôtel des Marchiennes

This arch, a listed building just like the hotel behind it, seems a little lost in this more modern part of the city centre. It’s actually a piece of history that has survived. In 1620, the Abbot of Marchiennes bought two houses within the town’s fortifications to built a shelter for the inhabitants of Marchienne Abbey, 35 km from Lille. The shelter was used as accommodation for the abbot or for monks passing through the city. The porch you see in front of you is all that remains from the original buildings. The family that owns this private mansion fiercely opposed to its destruction, which was planned as part of the renovation of the Saint Sauveur district. They succeeded in having it listed in 1958, and it was here that the Association for the Preservation of Old Lille was founded in 1964. The owners were able to prevent the destruction of their hotel, but were powerless in regards the building of an apartment block to the right. Nor could the new co-owners, prevent the construction of the five-storey building to their left. Eventhough history resists, it cannot stop the growth of its city.