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Origin and history

The Puy-en-Velay Town Hall has its origins in the medieval consular institution. As early as 1219, the city gained the privilege of being administered by consuls elected by the trades, a system abolished after the riot of 1276 and then restored in 1344 by Philippe de Valois. The consuls, initially without a fixed place, acquired in 1364 a building on Rue de Villeneuve for their assemblies, before settling in Place du Martouret in 1643, where a fire destroyed their home in 1653.

The construction of the present town hall was decided in 1763 on the same site, according to the plans of architect Jean-Claude Portal. The building, characterized by a frontal façade, a wrought iron balcony and a iron ramped main staircase (added in 1860), was partially damaged by fires in 1817 and 1964. Its façade, ironworks and staircase have been protected as historical monuments since 1951.

The history of the building reflects the political and urban upheavals of Puy-en-Velay, from medieval consular autonomy to the administrative centralization of the Enlightenment. Its architecture, typical of the eighteenth century, embodies both the permanence of municipal institutions and the hazards of local history, marked by repeated destruction and reconstruction.

The site, owned by the municipality, remains a symbol of municipal power. Its dominant attic, its corner chains and its interior elements in ironwork illustrate the artisanal know-how of the time, while its localization of the Martouret square makes it a central point of civic life for almost four centuries.

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