Hôtel de ville de Châlons-en-Champagne, Town hall in Châlons-en-Champagne, France.
The Hôtel de Ville of Châlons-en-Champagne is a neoclassical building on Place du Maréchal Foch, completed in 1776 to designs by Jean-Nicolas-Louis Durand. Its ashlar facade has a projecting three-bay centre with six Ionic columns and a pediment carved with a woman and two putti. A domed clock tower with a spire rises behind the pediment, and the inscription "HOTEL DE VILLE" is carved above the columns.
The aldermen met at the Saint-Esprit Hospital from at least the 15th century, and a Renaissance Maison Commune was begun on this site in 1553, delayed by the Wars of Religion and finished in 1612. In the 1770s intendant Rouillé d'Orfeuil had it demolished to create a new civic square, and Jean-Nicolas-Louis Durand designed the present neoclassical town hall, built from 1772 and completed in 1776.
On the first floor of the staircase of honour hang grisailles by Nicolas Perseval depicting figures from the town's past, among them Claude d'Espence, David Blondel, Nicolas Clémangis, Martin Akakia, Perrot d'Ablancourt and Pierre Bayen. Opposite the staircase, the Salon d'honneur is also decorated with grisailles. These are grey-toned paintings, not portraits in colour.
The building houses administrative services and is open to the public, particularly during heritage celebration days that offer guided visits. Visitors should check with the municipal office beforehand to confirm visiting hours and tour availability.
Four stone lions by Antoine Lépine were placed outside the building in 1778, and Victor Hugo later mentioned them in his writings. During the Revolution, revolutionaries tried to hack the fleurs-de-lis off the pediment with a hammer, and the damage is still visible.
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