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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

Fradin House, located in Alet-les-Bains, Aude, is a historical monument dating back to the 12th and 17th centuries. Its structure combines a variety of architectural elements, including a 15th-century wooden corbelled façade and a 17th-century entrance door with carved mouldings and roses. An oral tradition evokes its past use as a courthouse, although this function has not been formally attested by written sources.

Since the mid-16th century, the house has housed notable families in the region. Its interior retains remarkable details, such as a vaulted corridor, a double-flyed staircase carried by adorned arches, and a wooden gallery once opened. The groined windows and arches on the façade reflect Gothic influences, while the back sculpted brace door bears witness to a refined craftsmanship.

Ranked a Historic Monument in 1948, the Fradin House is distinguished by its facades on street and courtyard, its staircase, and its 15th century structure. The protected elements also include the overhanging gallery, characteristic of medieval civil architecture. Despite changes over the centuries, it remains a rare example of a wooden house in southern France, illustrating the evolution of constructive techniques between the Middle Ages and the modern era.

The location of the house, at 31 rue Calvière, places the monument in the heart of the historic village of Alet-les-Bains, a commune marked by its monastic and thermal past. The accuracy of its geographical location is estimated as fair (note 5/10), possibly reflecting uncertainties about its exact location in old sources.

Available sources, including the Merimée and Monumentum base, highlight its heritage importance, although certain assumptions, such as its judicial use, are based on oral traditions. No archive explicitly mentions historical characters related to the house, limiting knowledge to its architecture and occupation by local notables.

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