Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Mazuer House, located in Riom in Puy-de-Dôme, is a rare example of medieval civil architecture in wood panels of the 15th century. With the exception of its base and its back stone wall, the structure is entirely constructed of wood, a special feature that makes it the only house of this type still standing in Riom. The building consists of two floors, the second of which, in a slight corbellation, rests on adorned adorned bows, giving the facade a characteristic style of the late Middle Ages.

The lower parts of the stone house sculpted head-shaped lamp ass, adding a mysterious artistic touch to the ensemble. According to tradition, this house belonged to Jean Mazuer, a riomois jurisconsult of the 15th century, although this attribution is based more on oral tradition than on formal archives. The protection of the building, classified by decree in 1925, mainly concerns its facade and staircase, precious testimonies of the medieval bourgeois habitat.

The architecture of the Mazuer house reflects the construction techniques in Riom in the 15th century, where wood was widely used for urban dwellings. Its state of conservation, despite centuries, allows us to study the methods of the era, as the use of corbellations supported by decorative arches. These elements, combined with its location in the city centre (33 rue de l'Hôtel-de-Ville), make it an emblematic monument of the riomois heritage, although its exact location is considered mediocre (note 5/10) by the available sources.

The building also illustrates the role of jurisconsults in the medieval cities of Auvergne, where these experts in Roman law occupied a central place in the local administration. Riom, then the judicial capital of the Duchy of Auvergne, was home to a literate elite of which Jean Mazuer may have been a member. Today, Mazuer House, although protected, does not seem open to the public, limiting its accessibility to outside observation.

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