Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The building of Châteaudun is part of the vast reconstruction project of the city after the great fire of 21 June 1723, which destroyed more than 1,000 houses. Jules Hardouin, the building controller, was tasked with developing a new urban plan in chessboard, centred on a large rectangular square intended to accommodate public buildings and uniform houses. This square, designed in precise geometric proportions, was to be lined with arcades and four large protruding buildings, only two of which were realized: the stone town hall (1777) and a building whose facades and roofs are now protected.

The reconstruction followed a rational model, with regular alignments and a visual hierarchy marked by the height of the buildings. The two pavilions on one of the large sides of the square were never built, leaving room for a post-hotel built in 1900. The current building, located 3 Place du 18-Octobre, illustrates this ambitious urban modernization project, combining functionality and classic aesthetics. Its facades and roofs, listed in the inventory of Historical Monuments since 1953, reflect the architectural heritage of this period.

The classification specifically concerns the elements overlooking the square, with a return to the streets of Luynes and Marshal-Lyautey. This heritage shows both the resilience of the city after the disaster and the influence of the urbanist principles of the Enlightenment, where order and symmetry served to affirm a new collective identity.

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