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
- 50.2923, 2.7813
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00108058
In the heart of Arras, this building, listed since 1920, embodies the elegance of Flemish civil architecture, with its brick and limestone facades punctuated by stepped gables typical of the North.
History
Arras is one of France's most remarkable cities for its civil architectural heritage, and this building, classified as a Historic Monument since 7 February 1920, is one of its most precious witnesses. Set within the dense urban fabric of the capital of the Pas-de-Calais region, it is an eloquent illustration of the architectural tradition of the Southern Netherlands, inherited from the centuries of Burgundian and Spanish domination that shaped the town's built identity. The building is stylistically in keeping with the large gabled houses lining the famous Grand'Place and Place des Héros in Arras, which are listed as one of the most beautiful urban ensembles in northern France. Its facade shows the particular care taken with the layout of the windows, the quality of the materials used - local red brick and Artois limestone - and the richness of the sculpted details, a sign of the prosperity of its patrons. To visit this building is to immerse yourself in the history of a city that was, from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, one of the economic and cultural capitals of Northern Europe, renowned for its tapestries - the "arras" - exported as far afield as England and Italy. Each stone, each sculpted lintel tells of the ambitions of a merchant bourgeoisie keen to assert its position in a city at the crossroads of the great Flemish trade routes. The surrounding setting adds to the interest of the visit: Arras has one of the best-preserved groups of arcaded houses in France, and this building is part of a heritage trail where each façade interacts with its neighbours to create a rare urban harmony. Lovers of civil architecture, medieval and modern history, as well as photographers in search of vertical and rhythmic compositions, will find much to marvel at here.
Architecture
The building is in the Flemish-Spanish architectural tradition that characterises the older buildings in Arras, with a well-ordered facade of red brick set with white limestone chains from the Marquise or Lille region. This chromatic bichromy, so typical of the North, gives the building a neat and elegant appearance, enhanced by the regular rhythm of the stone cross bays. The façade is crowned by a stepped or scrolled gable - a signature feature of 16th-17th century civil architecture in the former Spanish Netherlands - which rises above the roofline to create the vertical, jagged silhouette characteristic of the neighbouring Grand'Place and Place des Héros. The arcades on the ground floor, if present, bear witness to the building's original commercial function, allowing merchants to display their wares sheltered from the elements, a practice that has been attested to in Arras since the Middle Ages. The sculpted details - ornate keystones, lintels with mouldings, any medallions or cartouches - illustrate the skills of Arras' stonemasons. The roof, probably made of natural slate or mechanical tiles depending on the successive alterations, completes the sober, balanced massing characteristic of a bourgeois building designed to last and to impress without excessive ostentation.
Related Figures
Maximilien de Robespierre — natif d'Arras (1758-1794), figure de la Révolution française, dont la ville conserve plusieurs traces patrimonialesLouis XIV — dont la prise d'Arras en 1640 et les commandes à Vauban transformèrent durablement le tissu urbainVauban — ingénieur militaire qui fortifia Arras et influença l'organisation spatiale du centre-villeCharles Quint — sous le règne duquel l'architecture flamande connut son apogée à Arras, période probable de conception de nombreux immeubles de ce typeEugène Viollet-le-Duc — théoricien du patrimoine dont l'influence sur la politique de classement des monuments civils du Nord fut déterminante au XIXe siècle
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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.