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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The town hall of Poitiers, located Place du Maréchal-Leclerc (former Place d'Armes), embodies the 19th century urban ambition in the city. Designed between 1869 and 1875 by architect Antoine-Gaëtan Guérinot, it is part of a vast modernisation plan linked to the arrival of the train in 1851 and the construction of the prefecture (1864-1869). The Second Empire-style, neo-renaissance building was also to house the Museum of Fine Arts, which it housed until 1974. Its theatrical architecture, inspired by the Garnier opera and contemporary city hotels such as Niort and Saint-Jean-d.

The main facade, richly adorned with rinceaux, garlands and ringed columns inspired by Philibert de l'Orme, contrasts with the more sober lateral elevations. The planned sculptures (medillions, allegories of illustrious poitevins) were never realized due to lack of funding. The interior, equally ambitious, includes a large staircase decorated by Louis-Ernest Barrias (allegorical caariatids science and fine arts) and paintings by Pierre Puvis de Chavannes evoking local history, like Charles Martel saving Christianity (732). The wedding hall and the Salon d'honneur, a former ballroom, house works by Léon Perrault and Jean-Baptiste Brunet, celebrating notable episodes of Poitiers.

The building, classified as a historical monument in 1975 for its facades, roofs and staircase, illustrates the desire to combine civic function and artistic prestige. His campanile, the work of Auguste-Nicolas Cain, and his lead tigers surmounted by putti with torch bearing, recall the fascists of the Second Empire. The coat of arms of the city (Lion of Aquitaine, fleurs de lys, besants des échevins) are available in multiple supports, from ironworks to stained glass windows, highlighting the local identity. Despite unfinished scenery, the city hall remains a major testimony of the municipal architecture of its time, mixing republican symbols and references to Poitevin history.

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