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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The town hall of Rambouillet was built in 1787 by architect Jacques-Jean Thévenin to house the bailliage of the local jurisdiction. This building, ordered after the king bought the seigneury, was used to do justice in the name of the crown. Its architecture combines a main wing and two lateral wings, with a Saint Leu stone central forebody decorated with an allegorical bas-relief representing Justice. The elevation, sober and hierarchical, contrasts a ground floor made of cut stone with a noble floor made of coated bellows imitating the brick, pierced with high windows with stone frames.

In 1809 Napoleon I offered the building to the city of Rambouillet, transforming it into a city hall. Inside, a monumental map of Rambouillet and the Yvelines, executed under Louis XVI – which would have personally contributed to its elaboration – covers nearly 20 m2. The building, classified as a Historical Monument since 1965 for its facades and roofs, thus preserves traces of its dual heritage: judicial under the Ancien Régime and municipal since the Empire.

The main entrance, marked by a carved pediment, emphasizes the original vocation of the place as a symbol of royal authority. Today, a communal property, the city hall still houses remarkable heritage features, such as this historical map, a testimony to the links between the territory and the monarchy on the eve of the Revolution. The accuracy of its current location is considered fair (note 5/10), based on available data.

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