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
- 50.2912, 2.7793
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00108151
In the heart of Arras, this building, listed as a Historic Monument since 1920, embodies the elegance of Flemish civil architecture, with its limestone facades and stepped gables characteristic of Artesian Flanders.
History
Arras, the capital of Pas-de-Calais, is one of France's richest cities in terms of historic civil architecture. Its two emblematic squares - the Grand'Place and the Place des Héros - form one of the most remarkable groups of Baroque and Flemish facades in Northern Europe, and are listed as a World Heritage Site. This listed building, a silent witness to several centuries of Artesian history, is set in this exceptional urban context. The building stands out for the quality of its civil architecture, typical of the bourgeois and merchant buildings that made Arras famous from the late Middle Ages onwards. The town was a major economic and cultural centre in the former Southern Netherlands, at the crossroads of the tapestry trade - the famous "arras" - and the grain trade. Buildings from this period reflect the affluence of their patrons and the mastery of local craftsmen. To visit this monument is to plunge into the very texture of the historic city, far from the most popular tourist routes. The façade reveals a precise architectural vocabulary: arcaded galleries, bow-windows or oriel windows, meticulous modelling, ashlar or brick bonding according to the successive alterations. Each detail tells the story of an era, an owner and an ambition. The setting in Arras makes the experience all the more special: the cobbled streets, the underground vaulted cellars known as "boves" that run under the entire town, and the ballet of gabled facades on the large surrounding squares create a décor of a coherence that is rare in France. This listed building, protected since 1920 - one of the first post-war waves of listed buildings - is a key part of this vibrant urban fabric.
Architecture
The building is part of the Flemish and Artesian civil architectural tradition, characterised by the use of blonde limestone extracted from local quarries, sometimes combined with red brick in the less noble or altered parts. The facade, arranged in a rhythmic vertical composition, probably features a mullioned or transomed bay window, inherited from the late Gothic period, which later alterations may have enriched with pilasters or antique pediments in the Renaissance or Classical style. The ground floor, like the buildings typical of Arras' main squares, could be fitted with semi-circular or basket-handle arches, allowing the covered loggia to be used for commercial purposes - a practice closely linked to the town's commercial role. The upper storeys, punctuated by windows with moulded frames, probably culminate in a stepped or scrolled gable, an iconic feature of the civil architecture of the former Southern Netherlands. Steeply pitched roofs, covered in slate or Flemish tiles, complete this characteristic silhouette. The interior, although not described in the available sources, probably follows the traditional layout of middle-class houses in the Arras region: a succession of adjoining rooms, spiral staircases or staircases with stone balusters, and barrel-vaulted cellars extending the underground network of the Arras "boves". These basements dug into the chalk are one of the town's most extraordinary geological and architectural features, and are themselves listed as historic monuments.
Related Figures
Édouard Cor — architecte des Monuments Historiques actif à Arras dans l'après-guerre, probable acteur de la restauration post-1918Philippe II d'Artois — comte d'Artois au XIVe siècle, sous lequel Arras connut un essor architectural remarquableMaximilien de Robespierre — natif d'Arras (1758), dont la ville conserve plusieurs demeures liées à sa famille bourgeoiseLouis XIV — sous le règne duquel Arras fut définitivement rattachée à la France (1659), impulsant une nouvelle phase de construction civileCharles le Téméraire — duc de Bourgogne, dont la cour favorisa les grands chantiers civils à Arras au XVe siècleJean-Marie Carlier — architecte arrageois du XIXe siècle impliqué dans les premières campagnes de restauration des immeubles historiques 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.