XVe — XVIIe siècles15th — 17th centuries
Based on Armand Brulhart, Bulletin n°1 of Vieux Martigny (1977) and the official records of the Valais Council of State.
The first appearance of the building under the Latin name Magna Domus, in 1462, suggests it may have been a monastery of unverifiable origin. The house's origin plausibly traces back to the noble family of Martigny: the building is already known as Magnum Hospitium — meaning great hospice or great inn — when it passed to Antoine de Châtelard through a sale by Peronnette of Martigny, a descendant of the last Vidames.
One hypothesis is that the Grand Maison was acquired by Georges Supersaxo in 1502. The principal beneficiaries of his estate were said to be the Kalbermatten family of Sion, who became owners between 1543 and 1547 and would retain it until the mid-19th century.
The massive walls of a former cloister, now the Grand'Maison hotel.
— Gourgdault, 1879
Architecture
The building, crowned with a gable roof, displays eleven bays regularly arranged across three levels, with a fourth attic level. At its centre opens a portal with a wide lintel that once bore the arms of the Kalbermatten family.
During renovation in 1977-78, a gothic stone door frame was discovered and restored on the north façade. To the northwest, the rectangular tower — a type dating back to the 15th century — features simulated machicolations at its base and is topped by a steep pavilion roof covered in shingles.
The only dated material preserved from the Grand Maison is the stove stone bearing the initials "N K" for Nicolas de Kalbermatten and "C W" for Cécile Waldin, dated 1626.
Reconstruction
The gothic frame, mutilated over time, was reconstructed from the surveys of Raymond Eggs, deputy cantonal archaeologist. Originally, the lintel featured a characteristic accolade, removed during later transformations.
Graffiti
During the 1977 façade-stripping, segmental-arched bays were uncovered on the west wall, revealing splays covered in "wild" inscriptions, mostly drawn in red chalk. Sigils, monograms, coats of arms, mottos and Latin phrases — dated between 1541 and 1619, the period when the Kalbermatten family bought the building from Georges Supersaxo's descendants.
Among the names recorded: Antonius Mayers (1593), Carolus a monthey, Iohan Cvrton, Mro Antonio Zono, Jacob Ry, Emard Farnex. The Supersaxo motto is recognisable — WGW ("Was, wie, wo, wann Gott will"), a shield bearing the arms of Savoy, and the Kalbermatten bull accompanying the inscription "24 April 1619, return", likely linked to the grand bailli Nicolas de Kalbermatten, then colonel in the service of the Duke of Savoy.
Photos Yan Höll · Bulletin n°1 of Vieux Martigny, 1977
Six centuries
From the Magna Domus to today's art venue.
First written mention. The building, already known as Magnum Hospitium, passes to Antoine de Châtelard through a sale by Peronnette of Martigny.
Probable acquisition of the house by the famed Valais statesman.
The house passes to the Kalbermatten of Sion, possibly through purchase from the Supersaxo estate. It will remain their property until the mid-19th century.
Captain Nicolas Kalbermatten commissioned the expansion and embellishment of the building. The monumental staircase tower and current appearance date from this period.
The baroque merchant Kaspar Jodok von Stockalper often stayed at the Grand Maison, then run by Madame Annilie Meschler, mother of Étienne Ganioz.
The Grand'maison became a popular inn. Many famous figures stayed there before crossing the Grand-Saint-Bernard or Forclaz passes.
The postal service is attached to the building under the name "Hôtel Grand'Maison et Poste".
Valentin Morand was the innkeeper, followed by his son Joseph (1822-1865), the last keeper of the Grand Maison, then known as "Hôtel Morand".
The Grand Maison now has only one resident: Madame Élise Morand.
A Martigny bank acquires the building and sells it piecemeal to private owners. This subdivision preserved many original features.
Founding of the Vieux Martigny Association by Pascal Couchepin. Restoration of the Grand Maison, rediscovery of the gothic door and the 16th-17th-century inscriptions.
The tower's steep roof is renovated with cantonal and municipal subsidies through the installation of new shingles.
Beneath the vaults of the Grand Maison, a new artistic and cultural space continues the tradition of hospitality, encounter and inspiration.
The illustrious travellers
At the crossroads of the Grand-Saint-Bernard and Forclaz routes, the inn welcomed the greatest writers and figures of the 19th century.
A stone's throw from the famed residence
"Noon begins in Martigny." (Noon begins in Martigny.)
The phrase travelled across Switzerland: Mizette Putallaz painted its emblematic image for a national tourism poster — the Place Centrale at noon, its plane trees, its passers-by, the white flight of birds. A scene where the southern light, rushing between the walls of the Vieux Bourg when the sun is at its height, becomes a signature: this light, the Place Centrale was the first in Switzerland to capture.
Designed in 1818, three years after Waterloo and the Congress of Vienna, the Place Centrale is Switzerland's first modern square. With a thousand inhabitants at the time, Martigny was already a crossroads between Alps and Rhône. A heritage that echoes the history of the Grand Maison.