Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The House of the sixteenth century, located 32 rue Dessous les Remparts in Saint-Bonnet-le-Château, is a remarkable example of Renaissance civil architecture. Built at the beginning of the 16th century, it was originally composed of two bodies of buildings separated by a courtyard, connected by a vaulted gallery of the now extinct dogives. The cut stone facade, adorned with a three-row genoise, replaces an old granite cornice. The solar ceilings, probably of origin, and a vaulted cellar in cradle testify to constructive techniques of the time. The house was backed by the city walls, now destroyed.

In the second half of the 16th century, the body of building overlooking the street was enlarged to the left (at n°34), and the façade of the 15th century was redesigned. At the beginning of the 19th century, after the destruction of the ramparts, the second building was transformed into a Boutaud Hotel and then became a post office in the 20th century. The latter will house housing, a restaurant and a printing house around 1980. Among the preserved elements are a wooden staircase, a stone staircase in front, and a 15th century fireplace in the old kitchen.

The house was protected under the Historic Monuments: the façade was classified by order of 14 October 1946, while the rest of the building (except the classified part) was inscribed on 3 October 1929. Its access was once through a vaulted corridor, and clues such as carved caps or walled doors suggest the existence of a gallery serving both bodies of buildings. The building thus illustrates the evolution of urban habitat between the Middle Ages and the modern era, while maintaining traces of its integration into the defensive system of the city.

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