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All French heritage classified by regions, departments and cities

  2. Patrimoine
  3. Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
  4. Loire
  5. 42310 La Pacaudière

  6. Relais des Postes Royales (home called Le Petit Louvre)

Relais des Postes Royales (home called Le Petit Louvre) à La Pacaudière dans la Loire

Relais des Postes Royales (home called Le Petit Louvre)

    44 Place du Petit Louvre
    42310 La Pacaudière
Ownership of the municipality
Museums of France
All houses and villas classified in France
Relais des Postes Royales maison dite Le Petit Louvre
Relais des Postes Royales maison dite Le Petit Louvre
Crédit photo : Delapacaud - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
vers 1511
Construction of the relay
1546-1547
Passage by Jacques Arcadelt
1632
First map mentioning La Pacaudière
1733
Post Office
1750
Ground Floor Brigade
1932
Partial classification
2023
Total classification
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

The postal relay known as the Petit Louvre, in its entirety, located 44 Place du Petit-Louvre, on parcels Nos. 266 and 267, shown in the cadastre section AB, including the soil of these parcels, as delimited in red on the plan annexed to the decree: classification by order of 9 June 2023

Key figures

Jacques Arcadelt - Traveling musician Sign a graffiti around 1546-1547
Charles III de Bourbon - Duke and connetable Local legend as user
François Ier - King of France Graffitis dated from his reign
Louis XI - King of France Initiator of Royal Post Office
Charles VIII - King of France Establishment of the sitting post

Origin and history

The Petit Louvre, or Relais des Postes Royales, is a 16th century mansion located in La Pacaudière, in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Ranked historic monument since 1932 for its facades and roofs, it was fully classified in 2023. This iconic building, with its ship-shaped frame and painted decorations, served as a post office on the Paris-Lyon Royal Road, offering lodging and mounts to the king's travellers and couriers.

The local tradition evokes a possible use as a hunting relay by Duke Charles III of Bourbon or François I, but his main role was that of a royal post relay, with stables, chapel and rooms for travellers. The graffiti of the corridor and stairway, mostly dating from the reign of Francis I, bear witness to its importance as a cosmopolitan passage.

The structure, called "French with very long chevrons", is a technical feat with its 13 meters high and 80 tons, comparable to the hull of a three-mast. The facades, adorned with a glazed brick scauguette and small dormitory windows, reflect Renaissance Gothic architecture. The building, owned by the commune since 1967, has been home to graffiti classified since 1986 and painted decorations protected since 1984.

According to the dendrochronologies, the woods of the frame were felled around 1511, placing its construction shortly after the creation of the royal post by Louis XI and Charles VIII. The Petit Louvre was a major stop on the map road since 1632, offering privileges to the postmaster (size exemption, chores). A replica was erected in 2017 on a roundabout north of the city.

Among the visitors identified, musician Jacques Arcadelt left his signature there around 1546-1547. The building also served as a post office (1733), a brigade on the ground floor (1750), and a presbytery (1850). Today, it is a symbol of local heritage, combining postal history, remarkable architecture and traces of former travellers.

External links

Page Wikipedia
Page Monumentum