Town hall of Fontainebleau, Town hall in Fontainebleau, France
The hôtel de ville de Fontainebleau is a red-brick civic building on rue Grande, rebuilt in 1864 under the Second Empire. Its symmetrical three-storey front has lighter stone quoins and window surrounds, a projecting central pavilion with an arched wooden door reached by steps, a clock, and a steep slate roof crowned by a domed bell turret with a weather vane. Two wings with tall hipped roofs and dormers flank it, and the main access to the building and inner courtyard is from rue Paul-Séramy.
The town hall was rebuilt in 1864 under the Second Empire; the former town hall of Rueil-Malmaison, now a local history museum, took its main features from this one. On the afternoon of 3 September 1888, President Sadi Carnot toured its rooms and offices. In 1929 the council voted to electrify its clocks.
The town hall of Fontainebleau sits at the center of daily life for residents, who visit it for official matters or to attend public meetings. During local ceremonies, the building becomes a gathering point that connects people with the rhythm of civic life.
The building is located in the center of Fontainebleau and is easy to reach on foot from the main streets of the town. Outside of opening hours, the exterior is still worth a look as it fits naturally into the surrounding streetscape.
The building holds archives and documents that record the town's history across several centuries. These records offer a direct way to trace how Fontainebleau changed through official texts and decisions made within those walls.
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