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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Grand Fauconnier house is an iconic Gothic building of Cordes-sur-Ciel, in the Tarn, erected in the 14th century by a wealthy local family. It is part of a series of civilian buildings that earned the city the nickname "City of a hundred warheads", alongside houses such as those of the Great Veneur or the Great Ecuyer. Its name comes from the statues of hawks formerly adorning its facade, symbols of the hawk hunting practiced by medieval aristocracy. These carved elements, now removed, are preserved at the Charles Portal Museum. The house underwent modifications until the 18th century, but its original structure, with ogival arcades and Gothic bays, remains largely intact.

The facade, dating from the 3rd quarter of the 13th century, is slightly later than that of the neighbouring house (house Prunet), built around 1270. Inside, a central courtyard provides access to a staircase serving the floors and a basement. A 15th century lintel attests to subsequent changes, while wall paintings and remains of the 13th century castral enclosure, visible in the basements, reveal its integration into the first fortified nucleus of the city. The house once housed shops on the ground floor and housing on the floors, perhaps rented, as suggested by wooden partitions and multiple access doors.

Classified as a historic monument in 1875, the Grand Fauconnier house now houses the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, enriched by donations from 20th-century artists such as Yves Brayer, Picasso, Miró or Léger. This cultural redevelopment contrasts with its medieval use, while preserving its architecture. The polygonal staircase tower, added in the 15th century, and the wooden galleries serving the floors testify to the successive adaptations of the building, reflecting the evolution of lifestyles in Cordes-sur-Ciel, from the Middle Ages to the modern era.

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