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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The town hall of Aix-les-Bains was originally a seigneurial castle built in the 16th century by the family of Seyssel, Marquis of Aix, on the remains of a 13th century medieval building. The present house body, dated by dendrochronology around 1400, preserves Gothic elements like a staircase of honor erected at the end of the sixteenth century by Isabeau de la Roche-Andry. This staircase, which was listed as a historic monument in 1890, led to a chapel that had now disappeared. The castle, bought by the commune in 1866, was transformed into a town hall with minor modifications, preserving its historical architecture.

The site occupies a strategic location, linked to Savoie's royal and Comtal history. As early as 1011, a charter mentions Aix as sedem regalem (royal seat), the heritage of the Carolingian fisc. In the 12th century Savoy County took possession of the Seyssel seigneury, which built a square dungeon between the 12th and 13th centuries. The archaeological remains, however, are poor, revealing an 11th century enclosure and foundations near the temple of Diane. The castle, partially destroyed in the 19th century, was a military hospital in 1793 before becoming a casino and then a town hall.

Ranked a historic monument in 1982 (outside the north wing), the building combines medieval elements (square-arrowed staircase tower, dogive vaults) and 19th-century additions, such as the council hall decorated in 1932. The successive restorations (roof in 2015, facades in 1979) preserved its hybrid character, between seigneurial residence and public building. The stairway, an architectural jewel, remained the only classified element since 1890, bearing witness to the power of the Seyssel during the Renaissance.

The castle was initially protected by a enclosure, a ditch and towers, including a dungeon destroyed in 1873. In the 17th century, installations (windows, stairs) were made in the tower of the Wall, before its demolition in the 18th century. The building was occupied by the Spanish troops between 1742 and 1748, and then transformed into a hospice in 1813. Interior changes (closing, bays) in the 19th and 20th centuries adapted space to administrative needs, without altering its historical identity.

The city hall now houses municipal services and a notable movable heritage, such as the woodwork of the council hall (Louis XIII style, 1974). Its staircase, with four nuclei and dogive vaults, illustrates the influence of Savoyard Renaissance architecture. The 1988 excavations and dendrochronological analyses (2005) confirmed the age of the house body, while the recent restorations (roofing in 2015) guarantee its sustainability.

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