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Origin and history

The town hall of Rouen had several locations before its final installation in 1800. As early as the 12th century, the municipality probably settled in the Halle aux Marchands, near the church of Saint-Eloi, after obtaining the communal charter in 1144. This place symbolized the growing power of the Rouenese merchants, organized in common under the royal authority.

In the 13th century, the administration settled in the Gros Horloge hotel, on a fief concession by Philippe Auguste. A belfry, symbol of communal autonomy, was built there between 1220 and 1251 with two emblematic bells: the Cache-Ribaud (1,900 kg, 1251) and the Rouvel (1,200 kg, 1259). In 1382, after the Harelle revolt, Charles VI shaved the belfry, but a monumental clock replaced it as early as 1389, becoming a major urban landmark.

The town hall was rebuilt in 1607 by Jacques I Gabriel in Florentine style, on the Gothic cellars of the previous building. In the 18th century, despite enlargements, the premises became small. An ambitious project by Antoine Mathieu Le Carpentier (1758-1765), providing for a royal square and a statue of Louis XV, was abandoned for lack of funds. Only foundations remain on Thomas-Corneille Street.

Between 1791 and 1800, the town hall occupied the Hotel of the First Presidency, destroyed in 1944. Since 1800, she moved to the former Saint-Ouen Abbey, disused in 1790. The dormitory of monks, transformed by architects Defrance and Le Brument, becomes a neoclassical building with peristyle and pediment. Fired in 1926, it was rebuilt in 1928 by Edmond Lair and damaged during the 1944 bombings.

The garden façade, classified in 1948, and the interior elements (marriage room, north staircase) testify to its turbulent history. In 1960, Maxime Old modernized city council rooms, collaborating with artists like Raoul Ubac for tapestries. Today, the city hall combines medieval heritage, classical reconstructions and traces of 20th century conflicts.

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