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Hôtel de Ville
The main frontage of the Hôtel de Ville in March 2009
General information
Type	City hall
Architectural style	Modern style
Location	Bourges, France
Coordinates	47°04′50″N 2°23′56″E / 47.0805°N 2.3989°E / 47.0805; 2.3989
Completed	1992
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Claude Vasconi and Jean-Paul Chazelle

The Hôtel de Ville (French pronunciation: [otɛl də vil], City Hall) is a municipal building in Bourges, Cher, central France, standing on Rue Jacques Rimbault.

History

Early meetings of the aldermen of Bourges took place in the cloister of the priory of Notre Dame de la Comtale which was destroyed in the Great Fire of Bourges in 1487. The first dedicated town hall in Bourges was the Hôtel des Echevins (Aldermen's House), in Rue Édouard-Branly, which was completed in 1492.

In 1682, the aldermen moved to their second town hall, Palais Jacques-Cœur, also known as Hôtel de la Chaussée, which had been erected in Rue Jacques-Coeur for the Grand Argentier (Great Treasurer) of France, Jacques Cœur, in the mid-15th century. The palace had been acquired by the statesman, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, in 1679, and he made it available to the aldermen three years later.

The aldermen were required to share the building with the commercial and criminal courts which made the accommodation very cramped and, in 1865, the council moved to its third home, Hôtel de Paskiewicz, located halfway up Rue Moyenne.

This arrangement continued until 1910, when the Palais Archiepiscopal (Archbishop's Palace) became available, following the implementation of the 1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State. This building, the fourth town hall, was commissioned by Archbishop Michel Phélypeaux of La Vrillière in 1679, and became vacant after the death of Archbishop Pierre-Paul Servonnet, the last archbishop to occupy the palace.

Despite expansion in the 1910s and 1930s, the Archbishop's Palace was too small by the 1980s, and the council, led by the mayor, Jacques Rimbault, decided to commission a new building. The site they selected had been occupied by the Grosse Tour, which had been commissioned by Philip II in 1189 as a place from which to control the town. It was demolished in 1653.

The new building was designed by Claude Vasconi and Jean-Paul Chazelle in the modern style, built in reinforced concrete and glass and was officially opened on 13 March 1992. The design involved an asymmetrical main frontage facing onto Rue Jacques Rimbault and followed the curves of the road. The main frontage was faced with alternating bands of concrete and dark-framed windows. Extensive efforts were made to preserve and protect the remains of the Grosse Tour during the construction work. Internally, the principal room was the Salle de Conseil (council chamber).

References

1. "Les Incendies à Bourges". Encyclopaedia of Bourges. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
2. Base Mérimée: PA00096685, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
3. Ribault, Jean-Yves. "L'hôtel des Échevins de Bourges". Presses universitaires François-Rabelais. pp. 121–135. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
4. Base Mérimée: PA00096686, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
5. de Gembloux, Pierquin (1830). Histoire monétaire et philologique du Berry. Vol. 1. Ménagé. p. 166.
6. Mémoires de la Société historique, littéraire et scientifique du Cher. Bourges: Société historique, littéraire et scientifique du Cher. 1908. p. 81. Paszkiewicz qui le céda, quelque temps après, à la ville de Bourges
7. Betros, Gemma (1 December 2010). "The French Revolution and the Catholic Church". HistoryToday. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
8. "Archbishop Pierre-Paul Servonnet". Catholic Hierarchy. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
9. "Laissez-vous conter l'histoire de la Grosse tour par le bureau des guides de Bourges". Le Berry Républicain. 24 August 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
10. "Des guides conférenciers déplorent le manque d'entretien du rempart gallo-romain de Bourges". Le Berry Républicain. 5 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
11. "Bourges, une cité médiévale". Le Monde D'H. G. Sempai. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
12. "Visites virtuelles Salle du Conseil Municipal". City of Bourges. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
13. "Les hôtels de Ville". City of Bourges. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
14. "Hôtel de Ville de Bourges". Encyclopaedia of Bourges. Retrieved 15 December 2024.

• Bourges
• Buildings and structures completed in 1992
• City and town halls in France
• 1992 establishments in France