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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The town hall of Riquewihr, located in Voltaire Square in the Upper Rhine, is a neo-classical building built between 1808 and 1810 at the site of the old lower gate of the city, dismantled in 1809. The project was initiated under the mandate of Mayor Samuel Karcher, with plans initially drawn up by the colmarian entrepreneur Xavier Molly, then reviewed and corrected by Louis Gouget, retired engineer of Kaysersberg, in charge of the management of the works. The official reception took place in June 1810. The building is distinguished by its central forebody crowned with frontons in the east and west, an axial covered passage on the ground floor, and a summital bell.

The architecture includes functional and decorative elements: a balcony on columns on the old town side, a sandstone staircase with a south side cast iron ramp, and a glazed party room upstairs. The facades and the roof were inscribed in historical monuments by order of 18 March 1930. The building, owned by the municipality, reflects post-revolutionary urban transformations, replacing a medieval fortification with a modern administrative symbol, typical of Alsatian neo-classicism.

Subsequent additions, such as an emergency staircase on the north side, testify to contemporary adaptations. Sources also mention a competition for the construction of an outdoor staircase a few decades ago. The departmental archives of the Haut-Rhin confirm the involvement of the prefect in the command of the plans, stressing the central role of the local authorities in this major urban project for Riquewihr, wine-growing city and tourist of the Greater East.

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