Bassenheimer Hof [SEP] architect
Bassenheimer Hof
The Bassenheimer Hof (Bassenheimer Palace) is an historic building in Mainz, western Germany.
At present (2009) the large structure is the seat of the Ministry of the Interior and Sports of the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
History.
The Bassenheimer Hof was erected in 1750 per the plans of the electoral master builder ("Oberbaudirektor") Anselm Franz von Ritter zu Groenesteyn (or "Grünstein") on behalf of the prince-elector as a retirement home for his sister the
widow, the countess of Bassenheim. It was built near the Osteiner Hof.
The architect had been particularly impressed, during his studies in Paris, by the Place Vendôme and Hôtel de Torcy (Hôtel de Beauharnais), with their formal statements and their elegant construction, reflecting the baroque French style.
In 1792 Mainz was invaded and occupied by Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine, at which time the clergy and nobility portion of the town's populace fled for safety. By 1835 the Bassenheimer Hof had been sold to