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Origin and history

The Dejou House, located in Vic-sur-Cère in the Cantal, is a mansion built in the seventeenth century, as evidenced by the semicircular pediment bearing the date of 1690. This building, with a sober elevation, is distinguished by typical architectural elements of the late seventeenth century, such as a vaulted basement floor in a full-circle cradle and a staircase cage enhanced by an elevation of the façade. The house belonged to the Dejou family until 1912, when it was given to become the presbytery of the commune.

Inside, the house retains remarkable elements such as a staircase with its wooden balustrade and a walled room dating from the first half of the eighteenth century, supplemented by a fireplace. These features, as well as the facades and roofs, led to its inscription in the Historical Monuments by order of 11 June 1990. The House Dejou thus embodies the evolution of bourgeois housing in Auvergne, mixing residential and later religious function.

The architecture of the Dejou House reflects the aesthetic and social codes of its time. The curved pediment, pierced by a skylight and niches, as well as the engraved date, underline the status of its owners, while the transformation into a presbytery in 1912 marks a significant change of use. Today, this private monument, although not open to the public, remains a representative example of the Cantalian civil heritage.

The location of the house at 5 Coffinhal Street, in a rural municipality of Cantal, recalls the importance of private hotels in the small towns of Auvergne in the 17th and 18th centuries. These homes, often built by wealthy families, served as both a place of life and a symbol of local power. Their preservation allows us to understand the social and architectural dynamics of the region before the Industrial Revolution.

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