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Origin and history

The house Henri IV is a half-timbered house built in the 16th century in the city of Auch, in Gers. It is emblematic of the civil architecture of this period, with a partially preserved facade, including an arch in the middle of the hangar and a typical 16th century door. Originally, it would have belonged to a trader, reflecting the commercial dynamism of the city at that time.

In 1578, the house would have housed Henri de Navarre, future king Henry IV, accompanied by Queen Marguerite de Valois and Catherine de Medici. This episode marks its historical importance, although the architectural traces of this passage are now limited. The door to the street and the interior staircase, characteristic of the bourgeois houses of the time, were inscribed in historical monuments in 1945.

The fire on 20 July 2019 damaged part of the interior staircase, recalling the vulnerability of this heritage. The building combines stone on the ground floor and wood on the floors, with balusters dating from the end of the reign of Louis XIII or the beginning of the reign of Louis XIV. Two lamp asses adorned with phylacterous angels and a fragment of white marble column remain, testimonies of its original decor.

The house illustrates the architectural evolution between Renaissance and classical times, while bearing the memory of a major royal event. Its partial inscription in historical monuments underscores its heritage value, despite the alterations suffered over the centuries.

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