Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Jean Macé's house, located on 9 rue de la Monnaie in Caen, is an emblematic building built in the late 15th and 16th centuries. It is made of Caen stone and is distinguished by its sled windows and a staircase tower topped by an upper bedroom. This building is closely linked to the history of the local printing industry, having housed the printer Jean Macé at the beginning of the 16th century, which built several buildings forming the courtyard of the printers.

The house houses a rare mural, discovered in 2006 in the living room on the first floor. With an area of 1.20 m2, this allegorical painting depicts pilgrims and spinners, inspired by the stories of Guillaume de Digulleville. It illustrates the virtues of work and patience, typical of the edifying narratives of the 14th and 15th centuries. The fresco, as well as its support, have been classified as Historical Monuments since 2007.

Damaged during the 1944 bombings during the Battle of Normandy, the house saw its courtyard open in Place Pierre-Bouchard, created during the reconstruction of Caen. The facades and roofs, first registered in 1954, received enhanced protection in 2007 after the discovery of the fresco. This monument thus bears witness to medieval civil architecture and the Norman cultural renaissance.

The building, typical of old Caen, combines defensive and residential elements. Its staircase tower, characteristic of the bourgeois houses of the time, houses an upper room supported by a trunk. The Caen stone, a local material, gives the house a stylistic unit with the other monuments of the city, while stressing its status as a preserved heritage.

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