Misplaced Pages

Hôtel de Ville, Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis

Article snapshot taken from[REDACTED] with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Town hall in Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis, France

Hôtel de Ville
The main frontage of the Hôtel de Ville in November 2019
General information
TypeCity hall
Architectural styleRationalist style
LocationMontreuil, France
Coordinates48°51′45″N 2°26′27″E / 48.8624°N 2.4409°E / 48.8624; 2.4409
Completed1935
Design and construction
Architect(s)Florent Nanquette

The Hôtel de Ville (French pronunciation: [otɛl də vil], City Hall) is a municipal building in Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis, in the eastern suburbs of Paris, standing on Place Jean Jaurès. It was designated a monument historique by the French government in 2024.

History

Au temps d'harmonie by Paul Signac

Following the French Revolution, meetings of the new town council took place in a building known as the Maison Communale. The council then relocated to a private house belonging to the Maupas family in Rue du Milieu (now Rue Victor-Hugo) in 1840. In the mid-19th century the council decided to commission a dedicated town hall. The site they selected was on a newly created square, Place Girard (now Place Jean Jaurès). Construction started in 1859. It was designed by Claude Naissant in the neoclassical style, built in ashlar stone and was completed in the early 1864. A stone which had been recovered from the Bastille, when it was demolished, was embedded in the building.

Following a significant increase in population in the early decades of the 20th century, the town council decided to create a new town hall, built around the old building. This concept proved too challenging to deliver and the old town hall was eventually demolished. The new building was designed by Florent Nanquette in the Rationalist style, built in ashlar stone and was officially opened in February 1935. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of 11 bays, with the end sections, of two bays each, projected forward. The central section of three bays which was also projected forward featured three double height openings with voussoirs and keystones on the ground floor. There were casement windows on the upper floors, balconies in front of the windows above the openings, and prominent ledges projecting out above the upper floors. There was also a bell tower, which was 40 metres (130 ft) high, formed with four columns on each side, with clock faces attached, supporting a cornice and multi-tiered parapet. The wings and end sections were fenestrated in a similar style. Internally, the principal rooms were the Salle du Conseil (council chamber), Salle des Mariages (wedding room) and Salle des Fêtes (ballroom).

The council chamber was decorated with 12 paintings by Charles Fouqueray depicting important local historical events, the wedding room with four murals by Claude-Charles Bourgonnier depicting the seasons, and the ballroom with four murals by Roger Parent depicting dance, music, comedy and drama. Following the death of the painter Paul Signac in 1935, his widow presented a painting entitled Au temps d'harmonie to the town, and it was subsequently hung on the staircase.

On 17 August 1944, during the Second World War, elements of the Francs-Tireurs et Partisans stormed the town hall, nine days in advance of the official liberation of the town by the French 2nd Armoured Division, commanded by General Philippe Leclerc, on 26 August 1944. After the war, two statues representing agriculture and industry by Lucien Gibert and Édouard Manchuelle respectively were installed in front of the town hall.

References

  1. Base Mérimée: PA93000077, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
  2. ^ Base Mérimée: IA93000078, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
  3. Comte, Louis (1 February 2019). "Les Mairies et Les Hôtels de Ville de la Métropole Parisienne". École d'Architecture de la ville at les territoires à Marne-la-Vallée. p. 42. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  4. "Les événements marquants". Town of Montreuil. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  5. Laloum, Jean (1998). Les Juifs dans la banlieue parisienne: Des années 20 aux années 50: Montreuil, Bagnolet et Vincennes à l'heure de la Solution finale. FeniXX rédition numérique. p. 78. ISBN 978-2402620659.
  6. "Plan Local d'Urbanisme: Département de Seine-Saint-Denis" (PDF). Brès+Mariolle et associés. 13 September 2012. p. 80. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  7. "Le Conseil Municipal (et les groupes politiques)". Town of Montreuil. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  8. "12 tableaux retraçant l'histoire de Montreuil". Ministère de la Culture. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  9. "Tableau: le Printemps". Ministère de la Culture. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  10. "Quatre tableaux : Allégories de la Danse, la Musique, la Comédie et le Drame". Ministère de la Culture. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  11. "Patrimoine artistique: "Au temps d'harmonie"". Town of Montreuil. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  12. "A Montreuil, la collection d'art contemporain s'expose à la mairie ou se cache dans le sous-sol!". The Parisienne. 25 January 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  13. "Que faire à Montreuil?". Seine-Saint-Denis Tourisme. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  14. "Août 1944 – Libération de Paris". Chemins de Mémoire. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  15. "Industrie et agriculture". Town of Montreuil. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
Categories:
Hôtel de Ville, Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis Add topic