Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The house in Saint-Mihiel, in the Great East, is a building built in the second half of the 16th century. From this period remains mainly the semi-outwork staircase tower, made of cut stone, as well as a gallery on three levels (visible on old postcards), which initially linked the house to a second building body today disappeared. These elements, typical of Renaissance architecture, bear witness to an artisanal know-how marked, in particular by the openworked guardrails re-used later in a fountain in the garden.

The main house has undergone two major reconstructions: a first in the 18th century, attested by an engraving by Wlodimir Konarsky and a photograph published in the work of H. Bernard (1932), and a second in 1906, a date worn on the front of the facade. During this last campaign, the Renaissance Gallery was replaced by a neoclassical body, while original decorative elements (such as the statuary) were incorporated into the foundation of the new building. The Renaissance stairwell, listed as a Historic Monument in 1926, remains the most emblematic vestige of the building.

The building thus illustrates three centuries of architectural evolution, mixing Renaissance heritage, classical transformations and neoclassical additions. The materials used – cut stone, mechanical tiles, slates – reflect the local resources and constructive techniques of each era. The re-use of old elements (bodyguards, statuary) in later developments underlines a desire to partially preserve the heritage, despite modernisations.

The current location (8bis rue Carnot) and the cartographic accuracy considered "a priori satisfactory" (note 6/10) make it possible to identify the building in the urban fabric of Saint-Mihiel. Although some buildings have disappeared, the stairway tower and traces of the reconstructions offer a tangible testimony to the architectural history of the city, from the Renaissance to the early 20th century.

External links