Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Angers courthouse, located 1 Waldeck Rousseau Street opposite Maréchal-Leclerc Square, was designed in the 1860s to replace the former presidial of Place des Halles (now Louis-Imbach Square). The original plans, designed in 1863 by architect Charles-Édouard Isabelle, were completed by his son-in-law Paul Mültzer Isabelle, with an official inauguration in 1875. The building is distinguished by its severe neo-classical style, marked by a forebody with six ionic columns and a carved pediment symbolizing the judicial solemnity. It closes the Champ-de-Mars planade (today's Mail Garden), thus integrating into a major urban complex of the city.

The entrance gate of the old presidial, demolished to give way to the new palace, was preserved and moved into the gardens of St John's Hospital. This project was part of a desire to modernize the Angelian judicial institutions, reflecting the growing importance of Angers as a regional administrative centre in the 19th century. The facades and roofs of the palace were listed as historic monuments on 29 October 1975, recognizing their heritage value.

Today, the Palace houses two key institutions: the Court of Appeal of Angers and the Judicial Tribunal. Its monumental architecture, typical of the palaces of justice of the time, embodies the authority and permanence of justice, while at the same time testifying to the urban evolution of the city under the Second Empire and the Third Republic.

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