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Origin and history

Solomiac Hall is a central building of the bastide of Solomiac, founded in 1322 in Gers. Designed to house markets and fairs, it was built simultaneously with the covered houses that border the main square. This building, mainly made of wood, has undergone multiple renovations over the centuries, but its original structure – a square plan supported by sixteen pillars (four square centres and twelve octagonal peripherals) – has remained unchanged. Its four-slope pavilion roof, covered with canal tiles, and its imposing structure housed on the floor a half-timbered hall, used as a municipal meeting place before the construction of a dedicated town hall.

Solomiac was a major commercial hub for livestock and poultry, while the hall was home to a variety of goods: wool, hides, leathers, fabrics, and pottery from the nearby village of Cox (bullets, pots, terrines). The arcades of the square, alternating full hanger and straight beams, reflect the typical architecture of the southwestern bastides. Classified as a historic monument in 1973, the hall illustrates the economic and social role of these buildings in medieval rural life, where they served as a place of exchange, storage, and administrative centre for the community.

The building combines medieval constructive techniques – such as stone pillars and wooden frame – with local materials, such as torchis for the upper room. The latter, accessible from the inside, testifies to the ingenuity of the builders to optimize the space. The Solomiac Hall, owned by the municipality, remains a preserved example of the urban planning of the bastides, where the spatial organization reflected a social and economic hierarchy centered around the market. Its designation as historic monuments underlines its heritage importance, both for its architecture and for its role in the commercial history of the region.

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