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Key figures

Origin and history

The covered corner house, located 1 Place des Cornières in Monpazier, is part of an exceptional medieval architectural complex. This bastide, founded in 1284 by order of Jean de Graville, Sénéchal de Guyenne, was organized around a central square surrounded by covered galleries. Originally, 22 corneal buildings occupied the north and south faces, while another six were located on the east and west sides. Today, 17 remain, including this corner house, which has been listed as a Historic Monument since 1904.

The Place des Cornières, the heart of Monpazier, illustrates the planned urban planning typical of the medieval bastides. These new cities, created to structure settlement and commerce, were often equipped with squares lined with arcade houses, as here. The covered galleries served both as a shelter for merchants and as a place of sociability for the inhabitants. The facade and gallery of this house, protected by ministerial decree, bear witness to this medieval urban organization.

Monpazier, located in Dordogne (Nouvelle-Aquitaine), thus preserves a rare architectural heritage, where the corner house covered embodies the heritage of the bastides of the South-West. These constructions reflected a political will for territorial control, while meeting local economic needs. Their preservation makes it possible today to understand the social and commercial organization of the medieval period in this region.

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