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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The building located at 155 rue de Bourgogne in Moulins, in the department of Allier (region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes), dates from the last quarter of the sixteenth century. It is distinguished by an ornamental cartridge in front, integrated with the west wall. This marble cartridge features an inscription engraved in the center of an oval: "Mil five cens eighty and huict Leonard Venuat me feist to make in this place, from where my opponent the Huguenot avoist distructs me". The oval is surrounded by a first edge of half-oves and alternate leaves, then a second made up of laurels.

The inscription explicitly evokes a context of religious tensions between Catholics and Protestants (huguenots) at the end of the sixteenth century. The cartridge commemorates the reconstruction of the element by Leonard Venuat after its destruction by a Huguenot opponent. This detail illustrates the violence and reconstructions linked to the religious wars that marked France during this period.

The building was partially listed as historic monuments on 22 June 1943, specifically for its ornamental cartridge. This protection highlights its heritage interest, both artistic (marble decoration) and historical (testimony of religious conflicts). The precise location, confirmed by the Mérimée and Monumentum bases, places the building in the city centre of Moulins, a town with a medieval and rich revival.

The cartridge, initially placed at 161 rue de Bourgogne, was moved on the west wall of the current building. This shift highlights the urban transformations that Moulins has undergone over the centuries, while preserving a key element of his heritage. The inscription, written in former French, also offers a linguistic example of the spelling usages of the time.

The 1943 protection is part of a broader desire to safeguard the Bourbon heritage, a region where Moulins plays a central role. The Allier, the department to which the commune belongs, contains numerous architectural testimonies of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, often linked to the history of the Bourbons. This building, although modest in appearance, thus embodies a collective memory both local and national.

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