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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The town hall of Perpignan, located 8 Place de la Loge, is a typical monument of the architecture of the Russillon, mixing Gothic and Catalan influences. Today it is home to the town hall. Its history begins in the 13th century with the existence of a common house or lodge, place of assembly of consuls elected by the inhabitants according to a system of social representation divided into three hands (major, medium, minor), established from the end of the 12th century under the authority of the kings of Aragon. This system, symbolized by three bronze arms on the façade, allowed the bourgeois, artisans and workers to participate in urban management, although military and civil power remained with the royal officers.

In 1318, King Sanch of Mallorca authorized expansion work on the Place de la Loge, then political and economic heart of Perpignan. The building gradually spreads, incorporating an interior courtyard and a characteristic 16th century porch, under Charles Quint. Between 1591 and 1605, two large halls were added to the east wing, including the present hall of the municipal council, formerly a chapel dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. The 17th century saw major interior changes, while the façade was profoundly altered in the 20th century, retaining only the wrought iron grids of 1710. The part between the Sea Lodge and the town hall was rebuilt in 1951.

Ranked as a historic monument in 1886, the building is distinguished by its 16th century Hispano-Mauresque painted ceiling, its 14th century carved ravens, and its patio housing The Mediterranean, sculpture by Aristide Maillol. The rolled stone façade, typical of Catalan architecture, and the three bronze hands recall the medieval social organization. The Arago Hall, adorned with neo-Gothic paintings, and the wedding hall, with starry chambers, bear witness to the historical strata of the building, between Aragonese heritage and modern transformations.

The city hall is inseparable from the institutional history of Perpignan. As early as 1197, a charter by Peter II of Aragon formalized the annual election of five consuls, confirming the local customs drafted in 1172 under Girard, the last count of Roussillon. These customs, preserved in the Green Paper of the archives, stipulated that the inhabitants had to plead before the king or his baili. The building, attached to the former courthouse, thus embodies the centralization of the civil and judicial power under the crown of Aragon, then its evolution under the kings of Majorca and Habsburg.

Beyond its administrative function, the city hall reflects the social and economic dynamics of Perpignan. The Place de la Loge, surrounded by the Merchant Exchange and the Palais de la Députation, was a place of convergence of elites (rich homes). The successive expansions, such as the purchase of a house in 1368 to expand the building, illustrate the prosperity of the city, a commercial crossroads between Catalonia and Languedoc. Interior decorations, combining Gothic, Renaissance and neo-Gothic styles, highlight this cultural richness, while the transformations of the 17th and 20th centuries adapt the building to changing political needs.

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