Hôtel des Deux-Ponts

[1] The Hôtel des Deux-Ponts is currently used as the official residence of the military governor of Strasbourg.

The Hôtel was designed as a hôtel particulier for the brothers, royal moneylenders François-Marie Gayot and Félix-Anne Gayot and built in 1754-55 featuring a courtyard, two ornate façades, a grand portal and a French garden.

In 1770, it was sold by François-Marie Gayot to count palatine Christian IV of Zweibrücken (German: zwei Brücken = English: two bridges = French: deux ponts).

His son and successor on the Bavarian throne, Ludwig I of Bavaria, was born in this palace on 25 August 1786.

The hôtel became state-owned (bien public) in the wake of the French Revolution in 1791 and has served as the official residence for military governors and chiefs of staff since, including during the periods when Strasbourg was a German town again (1871–1918 and 1940–1944).