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
- 50.2906, 2.7788
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00108125
In the heart of Arras, this listed building bears witness to the Flemish-Baroque style of building that made the Grand'Place and Petite-Place famous, with its blue sandstone arcades and characteristic scrolled gabled facades.
History
Arras, the capital of the Artois region, is one of the few towns in France to have preserved such a strikingly coherent collection of Flemish Baroque architecture. It is in this exceptional context that this building, listed as a Historic Monument since 1919, stands as a silent witness to several centuries of urban and commercial history in one of the most refined cities in the north of France. The building belongs to the family of buildings that make up the historic urban fabric of Arras, built according to the architectural codes specific to the Arras region, which was strongly influenced by the Spanish Netherlands. The curvilinear gabled facades, semi-circular arches supported by columns of Hainaut bluestone and sculpted limestone ornamentation are all hallmarks of local craftsmanship that won the admiration of travellers as early as the 17th century. To visit this building is to immerse yourself in the architectural continuity that makes Arras so unique in France: a town where reconstruction after the destruction of the First World War was carried out identically, stone by stone, arcature by arcature, preserving the spirit of the builders of the Ancien Régime. In this way, the building interacts with its neighbours in a harmony that few French town centres have been able to maintain. The setting is that of a lively town, where limestone and blue sandstone create a soft, luminous chromatic palette depending on the time of day. Photography enthusiasts will enjoy the remarkable play of light and shadow under the arcades, while urban history buffs will be able to decipher, in the smallest of modenatures, the ambitions and refinement of the merchants and bourgeoisie who made Arras' fortune.
Architecture
The building is part of the architectural tradition of Arras, characterised by the combination of white limestone from the region and blue sandstone from Hainaut, used for the columns and bases of the arcades. The facade displays the distinctive features of Flemish Baroque adapted to the taste of Arras: crenellated or scrolled gables crowning the roof, a row of semi-circular arches on the ground floor creating a covered passageway typical of the Grand'Place and Petite-Place in Arras, and regular bays punctuated by pilasters or engaged columns with composite capitals. The upper floors, in cut limestone, feature mullioned or transomed windows, framed by pilasters and topped by alternating triangular and arched pediments, in the fashion of the 17th century. The steeply pitched slate roofs with cross-hung dormers complete the vertical silhouette of the building, typical of northern architecture. The interior, organised around a rigorous vertical layout, reveals the attention paid to the quality of the materials and finishes: stone staircases with turned balusters, barrel-vaulted cellars testifying to a former commercial occupation, and French ceilings on the upper floors. The whole complex is an invaluable example of the mastery of construction by Artesian craftsmen in the modern era.
Related Figures
Louis XIV — sous le règne duquel l'Artois fut définitivement rattachée à la France en 1659, influençant profondément l'architecture civile arrageoiseMaximilien de Robespierre — natif d'Arras, il vécut dans des immeubles du même type et de la même époque dans le centre historique de la villeEugène Viollet-le-Duc — théoricien du patrimoine dont les principes inspireront les reconstructeurs d'Arras après 1918Pierre Paquet — architecte en chef des Monuments Historiques qui supervisa une grande partie de la reconstruction à l'identique d'Arras dans l'entre-deux-guerresCharles Quint — sous la domination des Habsbourg, Arras connut la prospérité qui permit l'édification de son remarquable patrimoine civil baroque
Tags
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.