Immeuble
Monument
Immeuble, located in Arras (Pas-de-Calais), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Arras, Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 50.2922, 2.7797
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00108020
In the heart of Arras, this building, listed as a Historic Monument since 1920, embodies the elegance of Flemish architecture, with its characteristic gabled facades and gilded sandstone arcades that have made the Grand-Place and Petite-Place famous.
History
Arras, the capital of the Pas-de-Calais department, boasts one of the most remarkable groups of Flemish Baroque houses in Europe, and this listed building is a prime example of this. Nestling in the urban fabric of a town that has managed to recover from repeated destruction, it bears witness to the tenacity of an architectural identity deeply rooted in the culture of the former Southern Netherlands. Its silhouette, punctuated by pilasters and pediments, follows in the footsteps of the grand bourgeois residences that line the city's baroque squares. What makes this building so unique is precisely its ability to sum up several centuries of Arras history in a single façade: the splendour of medieval cloth-making prosperity, the Spanish and Flemish influence of the Habsburg period, and the meticulous reconstruction carried out after the ravages of the First World War. The blond Artois stone meets red brick to create a soft, warm polychromy that is characteristic of the regional style. The visit begins on the outside, where contemplating the façade is enough to grasp the decorative intelligence of Flemish architecture: the levels are laid out in regular bays, each floor expressing its own ornamental grammar while contributing to the harmony of the whole. Attentive visitors will notice the fine sculptures, elaborate brackets and scrolled dormers that give the building its lively character. The urban setting reinforces the overall impression: Arras, with its 155 listed houses in Baroque squares, provides a coherent, almost theatrical backdrop for this building. Strolling through the surrounding streets, entering the arches of the shopping arcades, watching the evening light shine down on the sandstone façades - this is what this monument offers in its context, far beyond a simple architectural visit.
Architecture
The building belongs to the large family of Flemish Baroque-style houses typical of towns in the former county of Artois. Its façade, facing the street or square, is organised vertically in regular bays, with an arcaded ground floor topped by two or three storeys punctuated by pilasters superimposing the classical orders - Doric, Ionic and Corinthian - in accordance with the tradition codified in architecture manuals of the Northern Renaissance. The stepped or scrolled gable roof, typical of the regional style, is the most immediately identifiable feature of the silhouette. The materials used reflect the local resources and building practices of the Artois region: blond limestone, quarried in the region, provides the structure and sculpted decorative elements (cornices, brackets, ornate keystones), while brick contributes to the subtle polychromy of the facings. The roofs, steeply pitched in the Nordic tradition, are covered in slate or Flemish tiles. The joinery - windows with small jambs and doors with glazed transoms - contributes to the liveliness of the façade. Inside, the layout follows the standard plan for middle-class buildings in the region: a central or side stairwell leads to flats with adjoining rooms. Carved stone fireplaces, exposed joist floors and wood panelling are the most characteristic interior decorative features of this type of building. The solidity of the construction, tested by the convulsions of the Great War and the reconstructions of the twentieth century, bears witness to the expertise of the builders of Artesia.
Related Figures
Maximilien de Robespierre — natif d'Arras, figure révolutionnaire dont la ville porte la mémoire dans son patrimoine urbainLes maîtres maçons flamands du XVIIe siècle — artisans anonymes qui codifièrent le style baroque artésienLes architectes reconstructeurs des années 1920 — chargés de la restauration à l'identique du centre historique d'Arras après la Grande GuerreLes bourgeois drapiers médiévaux d'Arras — commanditaires des premières grandes demeures civiles de la citéAlbert Dufour — architecte départemental du Pas-de-Calais impliqué dans les chantiers de reconstruction de l'entre-deux-guerres à Arras
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Immeuble located?
Immeuble is located in Arras, Pas-de-Calais department, Hauts-de-France region, France.
When was Immeuble built?
Immeuble dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Immeuble open to visitors?
Immeuble is currently closed to visitors.