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Origin and history

The former courthouse of La Roche-sur-Yon, located in Napoleon Square, was built between 1810 and 1815 under the impulse of Napoleon I. The imperial decree of 1808 aimed at merging a prison and a court, while modernizing the conditions of imprisonment. The building, symbol of judicial prestige, served as a court until 1979, before being transformed into a music conservatory after renovations carried out in 1979 under the administration of Jacques Auxiette.

The initial prison, deemed unhealthy, was replaced in 1910 by a new 45-seat cell structure (38 men, 7 women), validated by the Supreme Council of Prisons in 1907. The former prison, demolished in 1927, gave way to a post office. A new courthouse project, designed by architect Georges Loquet in 1906, never came into being. The building will house the municipal museum in 2028, after a complete conversion.

In 1947, the palace was the scene of the first Kermesses trial, between the bishop of Luçon and the defenders of secular schools. Partially ranked at the Historical Monuments in 1985 (façade on the square), the building is the work of Duvivier. Its exact location, 27 Place Napoléon, makes it a major urban landmark, although GPS coordinates also suggest an approximate address at 55 Boulevard Aristide Briand.

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