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, 2.7787
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00108122
In the heart of Arras, this listed building embodies the Flemish and Baroque genius of the Grand-Place, with its columned arcades and gabled facades carved in white Hainaut stone.
History
Arras is one of the few towns in France to have preserved an urban ensemble as coherent and striking as its twin squares - the Grand-Place and the Place des Héros - lined with one hundred and fifty-five listed Flemish Baroque facades. This building is one of the most outstanding examples of this exceptional heritage, protected since the very first classification order was issued after the First World War, in 1919, when the town was still recovering from its ruins. What makes this building truly unique is that it bears witness to a meticulous reconstruction - virtually identical - of a medieval and Baroque urban fabric that was almost entirely destroyed by German bombardment between 1914 and 1918. Arras suffered one of the most devastating bombardments of the war, and its stone-by-stone rebirth is one of the most remarkable architectural feats of twentieth-century France. To visit this building is to read two stories at once: that of Flemish merchant prosperity under the Ancien Régime, and that of a heroic reconstruction driven by the collective will of a battered city. The visitor experience is first and foremost one of immersion in Northern Baroque town planning. From the limestone arcades on the ground floor, the eye naturally wanders upwards to the upper floors, which are punctuated by pilasters, elaborate dormer windows and scrolled gables typical of the civil architecture of the former Spanish Netherlands. The light from the north, grazing and golden at the end of the day, reveals the finesse of the sculpted ornamentation and the quality of the local limestone. The surrounding setting amplifies this impression: the two squares of Arras form a coherent setting where this building interacts with its neighbours in a rare harmony. The cafés sheltered under the arches, the weekly markets and the daily hustle and bustle recreate something of the atmosphere of the old wool and woad fairs that made the town's fortune in the late Middle Ages.
Architecture
The building is in keeping with the architectural vocabulary of Flemish Baroque as it developed in the former Spanish Netherlands in the 16th and 17th centuries. The façade, built of white Hainaut limestone - a fine, resistant stone that gives the squares of Arras their characteristic golden hue - extends over several bays punctuated by superimposed classical pilasters. The ground floor opens onto semi-circular arches resting on sturdy columns, forming the continuous covered passageway that runs the length of the squares and is the urban signature of Arras. The upper storeys are punctuated by windows with moulded frames, topped with keys carved with plant motifs or masks. The composition culminates in a gable with redents and volutes characteristic of the Northern Baroque style, pierced by a dormer window that catches the grazing light from the north. The blue slate roofs contribute to the overall chromatic harmony. Inside, the layout follows the typical layout of Arras trading houses: a deep ground floor for commercial purposes, giving access to the vaulted cellars - a probable vestige of an earlier medieval layout - and residential floors served by an internal staircase with a wrought-iron banister. The quality of the materials and the care taken with the exterior ornamental details bear witness to the high social standing of its original patrons.
Related Figures
Philippe II d'Espagne — souverain des Pays-Bas espagnols sous lequel le style baroque flamand s'imposa à ArrasMaximilien de Robespierre — né à Arras en 1758, il vécut dans ce tissu urbain avant de devenir figure centrale de la RévolutionEugène Delacroix — l'architecte en chef des Monuments Historiques qui supervisa la reconstruction des places après 1919Albert 1er de Belgique — figura parmi les responsables alliés qui visitèrent Arras en ruines et plaidèrent pour sa reconstruction fidèleLouis XIV — dont l'annexion définitive de l'Artois en 1659 (traité des Pyrénées) modifia le destin architectural de la ville
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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.