Hôtel de Ville de Reims, Southeast View 20140306 1

The Hôtel de ville is the town hall in the French city of

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

. Previously housing a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

, the city archives, a savings bank, a library, the city police, a tribunal and the chamber of commerce, it now only houses municipal services.

History

Previously meeting at different sites, the town council bought a building on the place du marché-aux-chevaux in 1499. This building soon became too small but a new one could not be built for lack of funds until a 22,000 livre debt was repaid to the city by the

duke of Guise Count of Guise and Duke of Guise (pronounced �ɥiz were titles in the French nobility. Originally a seigneurie, in 1417 Guise was erected into a county for René, a younger son of Louis II of Anjou. While disputed by the House of Luxembourg (1 ...

. Nicolas Lespagnol, the city inhabitants' lieutenant, laid the foundation stone on 18 June 1627 and the new building was constructed to designed by the architect Jean Bonhomme. Its first wing on rue des Consuls (now called rue du général Sarrail) was completed quickly and the council began meeting there from 1628 onwards. The façade was completed by Nicolas's brother Claude Lespagnol in 1636 and the building as a whole completed with the corner tower in 1823. Construction resumed in 1863 with the two last wings under the leadership of

Narcisse Brunette Narcisse Brunette (15 August 1808 – 8 October 1895) was a French architect. A student of François Debret, Brunette began his career as an inspector and architect engaged in the work on the courthouse of Reims. In 1837, he was appointed archit ...

and his brother Nicolas and they were completed in 1880. It was burned down on 3 March 1917 during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and rebuilt post-war, with work commencing under Bernard Humbold (architecte en chef des monuments historiques) in 1924. The architects

Roger-Henri Expert Roger-Henri Expert (18 April 1882 – 13 April 1955) was a French architect. Life The son of a merchant, Expert first studied painting at the École des beaux-arts in Bordeaux, then from 1906 attended the École nationale supérieure des Be ...

and Paul Bouchette contributed, along with the sculptor Paul Berton, born in Reims;''Reims, un siècle d'évènements, 1900, 2000'', Daniel Pellus, Fradet, 2005. president

Gaston Doumergue Pierre Paul Henri Gaston Doumergue (; 1 August 1863 in Aigues-Vives, Gard18 June 1937 in Aigues-Vives) was a French politician of the Third Republic. He served as President of France from 13 June 1924 to 13 June 1931. Biography Doumergue ca ...

reopened the building on 10 June 1928.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hotel De Ville, Reims Buildings and structures completed in 1628 Government buildings completed in 1628 Buildings and structures in Reims City and town halls in France 1628 establishments in France