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
- 50.2904, 2.7786
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00108120
In the heart of Arras, this building, listed as a Historic Monument since 1919, embodies Flemish architectural genius: limestone facades, stepped gables and vaulted galleries that have survived the centuries and wars.
History
Arras is a city apart in the French heritage landscape. Its two main squares - the Grand'Place and the Place des Héros - form one of the most remarkable Flemish Baroque urban ensembles in Northern Europe, and the buildings that line them are its living soul. Classified as a Historic Monument by decree on 26 December 1919, this building in Arras is part of an exceptional body of civil architecture that has survived two world wars and titanic rebuilding. What makes this building truly unique is its ability to crystallise an architectural identity that is uniquely Arras, at the crossroads of Flemish and French influences. The façades with stepped or scrolled gables and the semi-circular arches running along the ground floor to form the famous "boves" - medieval vaulted cellars dug into the chalk of Picardy - bear witness to a building tradition that has continued since the Middle Ages. A visit to this building takes you through several strata of Arras' urban history: the medieval cloth trade that made the town's fortune, the rise of the bourgeoisie in the 17th and 18th centuries, and then the heroic resurrection after 1918, when architects had to rebuild a town that had been 80% bombed out. This faithful reconstruction, often described as a "false truth", has itself become a unique heritage achievement in France. The building's setting enhances the experience: the cobbled streets, the wrought-iron signs and the murmur of the arcades, which provide a covered walkway in all weathers, create an urban scenography that few French towns can boast. Arras is a town that you can visit on foot, slowly, looking up at the ornate pediments.
Architecture
The architecture of this building in Arras is representative of the Flemish Baroque style that characterises all the facades of the Grand'Place and Place des Héros in Arras. The vertical composition, punctuated by pilasters and mullioned or transomed windows, culminates in a stepped or scrolled gable, an inimitable signature of the civil architecture of northern France and Belgium. The ground floor is pierced by semi-circular arches resting on columns or pillars of white limestone quarried locally, forming the covered gallery characteristic of the centre of Arras. The materials used reflect a long-standing local tradition: chalk and Lutetian limestone from the Artois region make up most of the masonry, while the window surrounds, cornices and sculpted ornaments - cartouches, mascarons, broken pediments - reflect the skills of Flemish stonemasons. The steeply pitched roofs, covered in natural slate or flat tiles depending on the building, contribute to the town's distinctive silhouette. Underground, the boves are an exceptional architectural feature: this network of chalk barrel-vaulted cellars, sometimes spanning several levels, forms a veritable labyrinth beneath the squares of Arras. Used as commercial warehouses in the Middle Ages, and as shelters during the two world wars, they represent a unique underground heritage, of which this building probably has its own portion.
Related Figures
Maximilien de Robespierre — avocat et révolutionnaire né à Arras en 1758, figure tutélaire de la ville dont les immeubles bourgeois formèrent le décor de son enfance et de sa jeunessePhilippe II d'Espagne — souverain sous lequel Arras et son architecture civile connurent un essor baroque significatif au XVIe siècleLouis XIV — dont le traité des Pyrénées (1659) rattacha définitivement l'Artois à la France, entraînant une nouvelle vague de constructions et d'adaptations architecturalesCardinal Mazarin — négociateur du traité des Pyrénées, directement impliqué dans le destin politique et urbain d'ArrasArchitectes de la reconstruction (années 1920-1930) — collectif d'architectes régionaux, dont Pierre Paquet, inspecteur général des Monuments Historiques, chargé de superviser la restauration à l'identique des façades arrageoisées après 1918
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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.