350 years of History at the Hotel St. Louis in Autun, Bourgogne, France

Origins 1655
Maison de Maître property of Maître Nicolas Debard, Advocate.

Convent 1655
Maître Debard sells the Mansion to the religious order of Prieuré de Saint-Julien sur Dheune.

Le Roi Soleil 1673
King Louis XIV better known as the Sun King, the creator of Versailles issued written orders for the Sisters to join the nuns of Abbey of Rougement, near Dijon.

Mayor of Autun 1731
The Mayor of Autun Nicolas-Jean Barrault exchanged contracts to buy the Convent from the Abbesse de Saint-Julien, Françoise-Eléonore Rabutin at a price of 6,000 livres on behalf of the town.

Royal Mail
The former Convent became successively an Orphanage, Coaching Inn with shops and what are now the garages served as public stables.

Hotel Saint Louis King Louis IX 1744
The Coaching Inn is renamed HOTEL SAINT LOUIS on the specific instructions of the reigning King of France, Louis XV to commemorate King Louis IX of France who was canonised in 1297.

Napoleon and Joseph Bonaparte
Napoleon and his brother Joseph were educated at the elite Grammar School founded in 1709 by the Jesuits and now known as Lycée Bonaparte.

The Emperor Napoleon And his wife The Empress Josephine
During the reign of the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, a luxury Suite was installed at the Hotel St. Louis with two separate imperial mahogany beds to accommodate His Majesty as and when required. Recorded stays at the Hotel include those of

• 1802 : The Emperor heading towards Lyon, where he had summoned the five hundred members of the Italian Parliament, stayed at the Hotel St. Louis with his wife the Empress Josephine. They were received by the Town Council before taking supper in the restaurant of the Hotel.
• 1805 : Travelling from Paris to Milan, the Emperor stayed again at the Hotel.
• 1806 : Napoleon, returning from Turin stayed again in his Suite at the Hotel.
• 1815 : After having left Elba, Napoleon arrived at the Hotel St. Louis. From his Suite he summoned the Town Council and Mayor to dismiss them from their posts. He reproached them by saying:
  �France is unhappy, France has called me back and you want to oppose it�.
  At that moment an Officer of the Guard entered the Napoleon Suite; proclaiming the support of Field Marshall Ney and his Army Corps. Napoleon thereafter requested the printer of Autun to enter and handed him a large number of decrees to be printed.

The Suite Napoleon
Most of the Furniture of the Suite is original, in particular the two separate mahogany beds of the Imperial couple. The integrity of the Suite has been carefully restored by experts from the Lycée Bonaparte in Autun.

The Duke Of Orleans 1832
His Royal Highness the Duke of Orleans stayed at the Hotel St. Louis in the Napoleon Suite. Following a visit to the Rolin Museum, he received the Town Council and Military Officers of Autun and hosted a dinner in the restaurant for 50 guests.

George Sand 1836
The famous writer George Sand stayed at the Hotel St. Louis with her two children. In a riposte some months later she expressed her indignation at being slighted by insensitive comments made by the Aristocracy of Autun.

HRH the Queen Christine of Portugal 1841
Her Royal Highness Queen Christine of Portugal stayed at the Hotel St. Louis on her stopover in Autun while on the way to Paris. The next day she attended mass and was greeted by the