This strange -looking building is known as the Maison Romane. The Market Square dominates in the center of Saint-Anthonin-Noble-Val. It is said that the building is the oldest civic building in France. The reason for your strangeness will become evident.
The Maison Romane now houses the Saint-Antonin Museum. Every Saturday afternoon during the summer, you can take a guided tour. The details are at the end of the publication. When I never put a foot in the building, I visited last Saturday.
The guide had just begun when a car horn interrupted, going at regular intervals as it approached. Just son Klaxon It is the traditional French way to announce a wedding courtship. The car that took the bride advanced through the crowds that crowded the market square before disappearing along the narrow street that leads to La Mairie. Everyone applauded when it happened.
Magistrates and City Council
The exact date of construction and the purpose of the Maison Romane are a topic of debate. It is likely that it was built before mid -12Th Century and occupied by a designated from the vicomtes of Saint-Antonin, who dispensed justice in his name.
The city consuls bought the building in 1313 as its civic headquarters. The stores occupied the ground floor, while the consuls used the two upper floors.
Even the French Revolution, the consuls elected annually governed many cities in southern French who had the right of self -administer. They raised and raised local taxes, regulated the markets, dalt with complaints and carried out public works such as building bridges and sources.
The chosen mayors and councilors replaced the consuls since 1790. The Maison Romane ceased to be the City Council. On the other hand, the possession of a much larger convent, which had become a National good After the revolution. He hutulated La Mairie since then.
Viollet-Le-Duc restoration
Numerous alterations in the building have tasks located over the centuries. The bell tower was of a group cause, the wood structure susceptible to rot.
The architect Eugène Violet-Le-Duc carried out the final restoration in mid-19Th Century. He restored Notre-Dame de Paris, and the city of Carcassonne, whose fantasy pepper towers and fortifications are a great tourist attraction today.
Violet-Le-Duc was only twenty-five in September 1842 when he discovered Maison Romane. He wrote an endusian report on the building to the commission of the DES Monuments Historiques Commission, but stressed his urgent need for restoration.
The bell tower of the Maison Romane is the work of Viollet-Le-Duc, modeling in Tuscan Palazzi that he has seen on his trips. Personally, I think it is not at all with the style of the building. To be fair, he presented at least three projects before, less capricious, to the commission, all of which they rejected.
The restoration work included the strengthening of the lower parts of the building and adding a tower behind it by counting a snail staircase. Again, in my opinion, the latter is not a happy addition. The work finally ended at the end of 1852/early 1853.
Violet-Le-Duc verdict
Violet-Le-Duc also proposes a scheme to dismantle the Church of the Abbey of 13Th-Century Cisterciana Abbaye de Beaulieu. The plan was to transport it Stone by Stone to Saint-Antonin and rebuild it as the parish church. Begue work, but fortunately the commune of Saint-Antonin, owner of the abbey, was left without money, for what he stopped. However, it took more than a century before the abbey recovered its ancient glory.
Regardless of what you think about the aesthetics of Violet-Le-Duc work, I have to admit that your stubborn enthusiasm is likely that historical monuments saved from collapse or demolition. In addition, old buildings such as this experience innumerable alterations over the years. It is almost impossible, and structurally undesirable, bringing them back to a pristine or pure original state. Part of the historical interest of a building lies in the changes of use and the design it has seen.
Integral to the history of the city
The second floor is dedicated to the archaeological findings around Saint-Antonin that date back to several thousand years. The first floor exhibits artifacts related to the trades made in the city over the centuries, including tan, tissue, pressing walnut oil and bottling mineral water.
We also learned that the market square and the market room have existed only since mid -19Th Century. Before that, the buildings occupied the space. Apparently, the Market Chamber was the idea of the owner of a coffee, which cannilely saw the additional income that this would bring.
Useful information
Guided visits or the Maison Romane (Summer 2025)
Saint-Antonin Tourism Office and District
Société des Amis du Vieux Saint-Antonin
You may also like publications related to thesis:
Copyright © Life on La Lne 2025. All rights reserved.
