Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Adam and Eve's house, located in Clermont-Ferrand at the foot of Notre-Dame-de-Prosperité Church, is a medieval residential building classified as a historical monument. It originally consisted of two building bodies separated by a courtyard, connected by a staircase turret with galleries. The first body, dating from the beginning of the 13th century, was on Rue Montorcier, while the second, built at the beginning of the 16th century, was on Rue Sainte-Marie. Today, only the 13th century facade remains, partially demolished between the mid-19th century and 1924.

The staircase tower, built in the late 15th or early 16th century, houses a remarkable high relief depicting the biblical scene of the Fall. Adam and Eve, dressed in vine leaves, refer to a serpent with a human head wrapped around an apple tree. This relief, carved in the stone of Volvic, is adorned with the weapons of the Mazuer families (black eagle on a gold background) and Souchon (three golden ecots on a d.

The interior of the building almost completely disappeared, with the exception of fragments such as stone ravens, traces of painted friezes, and a cross window. The vaulted cellars, the low arched galleries, and the staircase with screws testify to medieval architecture. Originally a typical 12th century Clunisian house, with a ground floor dedicated to economic activities and floors reserved for housing, it was shared in condominiums until the 19th century. Today, it houses an architectural firm.

Ranked a historic monument in 1924, the house illustrates the architectural evolution between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Its present state is the result of partial demolitions and transformations, including the removal of eardrums from the arcs in the 15th century to install sills. Recent analyses rule out the hypothesis of public or canonical origin, confirming its residential and commercial use from the outset.

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