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, 2.7813
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00108056
In the heart of Arras, this listed building embodies the Flemish art of building: ochre brick facades, stepped gables and arcades characteristic of the Grand'Places du Nord. An exceptional example of regional architectural genius.
History
In the heart of the sumptuous Grand'Place in Arras, one of the most beautiful Baroque squares in Europe, this listed building's façade combines all the architectural vocabulary typical of the Flemish towns of northern France. Carefully proportioned red bricks, white limestone pilasters, stepped gables topped by slate roofs: every detail reflects the skills inherited from the master masons of the former Spanish Netherlands. What makes this building truly unique is that it is part of an urban ensemble of rare coherence. Arras is unique in having two monumental squares adjacent to each other - the Grand'Place and the Place des Héros - lined with arcaded buildings whose ground floors offer covered galleries for strolling sheltered from the elements, a commercial tradition that has been alive and well since the Middle Ages. The building is part of this continuity and contributes fully to the harmony of a complex that has few equivalents in France. A visit to this building is first and foremost a chance to soak up the special atmosphere of Arrage's cutlery. The visitor's gaze is invited to wander upwards along the superimposed orders: Tuscan and then Ionic columns, stone-panelled windows, before reaching a gable crowned with volutes and pinnacles that seem to want to touch the Picardy sky. From the arcades, visitors enjoy a privileged view of one of the finest architectural perspectives in the Hauts-de-France region. The immediate surroundings enhance the experience: 18th-century cobblestones, lively café terraces and traditional markets that have perpetuated the square's commercial vocation for centuries. Photographers and architecture enthusiasts can be found here at all hours, looking for the ideal angle to capture the play of low-angled light on the warm bricks and the reflections in the small-paned windows.
Architecture
The building is in the late Flemish Baroque style, typical of the civil buildings lining the large market squares in northern France and the former Spanish Netherlands. Its facade, facing the square, is arranged in regular bays, punctuated by white limestone pilasters that punctuate the vertical levels. The ground floor opens onto wide semi-circular arches forming the "couvert arrageois", a covered gallery with a cobbled floor that has protected pedestrians and merchants for centuries. The upper floors are built around cross-headed windows, some of which still have their original small panes framed by plain mouldings. The steeply pitched natural slate roof is crowned by a stepped gable - or scrolled gable - an iconic feature of Flemish architecture, giving the building an instantly recognisable silhouette against the Arras sky. This motif, inherited from Dutch and Brabant building traditions, is applied with subtle variations from one building to the next, creating a harmony in diversity that is the hallmark of the Grand'Place. The local red brick, fired in Artesian tile works, contrasts elegantly with the white limestone of the quoins and window surrounds. The interior layout, although less well documented than the façades, follows the traditional layout of Flemish trading houses: an axial corridor giving access to rooms on either side, vaulted cellars in the basement - typical of Arras' underground architecture - and cellars or warehouses communicating with neighbouring buildings, forming part of the famous network of boves running beneath the town.
Related Figures
Louis XIV — roi de France dont le règne voit Arras définitivement intégrée au royaume et ses places reconstruitesMaximilien de Robespierre — natif d'Arras, figure de la Révolution française dont la jeunesse se déroule dans ce quartierLes maîtres maçons arrageois du XVIIe siècle — artisans anonymes perpétuant le savoir-faire flamand dans la reconstruction des façadesLes architectes des Monuments Historiques de l'après-guerre (1919-1930) — responsables de la restauration à l'identique de l'ensemble des places d'ArrasPhilippe le Bon, duc de Bourgogne — souverain sous lequel Arras connaît son apogée commerciale médiévale
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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.