Timeline

Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Halles de Clisson, built around 1376-1377 according to dendrochronological analyses, occupy the city centre near the Château de Clisson. They extend over 900 m2 with a nave of 42 m long, supported by a frame in oak, chestnut and fir. Four accesses connect the building to the surrounding streets, including the Mining Square, linked to the collection of grain taxes. Classified as a Historic Monument in 1923, they are among the last five wood-frame halls in historic Brittany.

Originally, the lords of Clisson, like Guillaume de Clisson (XIIIth century), developed trade there to increase their incomes, transforming the place into a strategic economic pole between Poitou, Anjou and Brittany. The Halles also served as a place of worship during religious holidays and housed a lower court of justice (audience). Excavations of the INRAP (2018) revealed traces of habitat (Xth–XIIth centuries), a medieval occupation (XIIIth–XVth centuries) synchronous with their construction, and animal bones attesting to a budding activity.

During the Vendée wars (1793–94), the Halles, spared despite the Republican fires and the passage of the Infernal Columns of Turreau, served as a refuge for the troops of the two camps. In 1819, the commune purchased them from Prince Louis-Henri-Joseph de Bourbon and adjusted a grain hall there in 1821–22, now occupied by the Tourist Office. Recent works (2017–2023), financed by the State, the Region and the EU, have restored the structure and highlighted this heritage.

Today, the Halles still house the weekly market of Clisson, shops (library, cafes) and cultural activities. Their preservation illustrates the importance of medieval halls in the social and economic organization of cities, as well as their resilience to conflict. The archaeological furniture discovered (ceramics, metal objects) bears witness to trade at the western level of France since the Middle Ages.

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