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, 2.7812
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00108054
In the heart of Arras, this building, listed as a Historic Monument since 1919, embodies Flemish civil architecture in all its splendour: a limestone façade, stepped gables and sculpted arcatures of rare elegance.
History
Arras is a town whose architecture is inextricably linked to its great tradition of Flemish and Spanish civil architecture, inherited from medieval and modern prosperity based on the cloth and grain trade. Some of the buildings that line its famous squares - the Grand'Place and the Place des Héros - stand out for their age, the quality of their ornamentation and the consistency of their style. Classified as a Historic Monument on 10 October 1919, in the aftermath of the First World War that devastated the city, this building is part of this exceptional heritage that the authorities deemed worthy of immediate and lasting protection. What makes this building particularly remarkable is that it is part of one of the most homogenous architectural ensembles in the north of France. Arras is one of the few European towns to have preserved - and after 1918 meticulously rebuilt - its arcaded squares in the 17th-century Flemish Baroque style. Each building is both unique in its sculpted details and harmonious in its relationship with neighbouring buildings. Scrolled gables, superimposed Tuscan and Ionic pilasters, dormer windows with broken pediments: all these elements tell the story of several centuries of urban and commercial history. For visitors, the building is a natural part of a stroll through the squares of Arras, one of the most visited sites in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region. The façade, facing the public space, is in dialogue with the arcaded galleries, which form a covered corridor that allows passers-by to move around sheltered from the weather - an architectural tradition typical of the cloth-making towns of the North. The details of the building are revealed as the eye becomes accustomed to the richness of the composition: modillions, sculpted keystones, mullioned or transomed windows depending on the level. The setting that surrounds this monument is itself a spectacle. Arras' lively cobbled squares welcome markets, cultural events and walkers all year round. In the evening, the lighting enhances the play of light and shadow on the ashlar façades, creating a magical atmosphere that brings out the best in Flemish architecture. Photographers and history buffs will find an inexhaustible subject here, at the crossroads of art, history and town planning.
Architecture
The building is in the tradition of Flemish and Baroque civil architecture in northern France, with a façade of greyish-white limestone quarried in the Artois region, a local material par excellence that is easy to cut and highly resistant to weathering. The vertical composition of the façade is arranged in several bays, punctuated by superimposed pilasters of different orders depending on the level - Tuscan on the ground floor, Ionic or Corinthian on the upper floors - in accordance with the canons of classical architecture reinterpreted in the Flemish style. The ground floor opens onto the square through a semi-circular or basket-handle archway, integrated into the covered gallery that runs the length of the building front, providing a protected passageway for pedestrians in the northern merchant tradition. The upper storeys are pierced by mullioned or transomed windows, topped by triangular or curvilinear pediments embellished with sculptures: mascarons, foliage and armorial cartouches. The facade is crowned by a stepped or scrolled gable, the emblematic silhouette of Flemish houses, punctuated by pinnacles and decorative obelisks that enliven the sky line. The steeply pitched roof, typical of the Nordic climate, is covered in natural slate and pierced by dormer windows with sculpted fins. Every detail - modillion cornice, keystone arch with face, stone balustrade - contributes to the visual richness of a façade that reads like a manifesto of the prosperity and taste of its patron. The quality of the ashlar and the precision of the joints reflect the skills of the craftsmen from Artesia, whose reputation spread far beyond the region's borders.
Related Figures
Pierre Paquet — architecte en chef des Monuments Historiques, maître d'œuvre de la reconstruction d'Arras après 1918Les guildes de marchands drapiers d'Arras — commanditaires historiques des grandes demeures des places aux XVIe-XVIIe sièclesAlbert Demangeon — géographe qui documenta l'architecture civile du Nord de la France au début du XXe siècleMaximilien de Robespierre — natif d'Arras, dont la famille côtoyait les grandes demeures bourgeoises des places de la villeLes Artisans tailleurs de pierre artésiens — artisans anonymes auteurs des sculptures ornant les façades reconstruites
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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.