Paris1972-Versailles2003

And here I take you now on a bit of a tour of Alençon , an off the beaten path city of my belle France. This is the Orne dept 61 of the region of Normandy. Let me tell you a bit of what you get to see its the tourist office now!

The Maison d’Ozé or House of Ozé from the 14C of monumental and severe aspect, this house with simple lines and pure, half-manor, half-strong house, with the thick walls, is a construction of granite located at n ° 10 of the rue d’Etoupée, between the ramparts of Plénître and the Place de la Magdeleine ,then occupied by the cemetery of Notre-Dame parish. The main part, comprising a large porch, belongs to the transition style of the second half of the 15C; the adjoining pavilion, with pointed roofs, is of the following century, but it was built in harmony with the latter. The first floor is lit by several high windows, some of which have mullions. The interior of the building is composed of very beautiful rooms. The rear facade, overlooking a garden, includes a cylindrical turret with a square top. From the garden, the visitor can see vestiges of ramparts constituting the fences of this property and which recall the fortified city.

Guillaume Le Coustellier, alderman of the city, secretary of the Duke of Alençon Charles IV and son-in-law of Catherine Le Gay, lady of Ozé owned it. On the death of Guillaume, who became lord of Ozé after the death of his mother-in-law, hence the name given to the house, the hotel falls to his daughter Jeanne, wife of Jean de Frotté, secretary of the Duchess of Alençon Marguerite d’Orléans, who sells it to François, her elder brother in 1566. It is he who has built the pavilion adjoining the building. His eldest son, Thomas, maitre d’hôtel of the King of Navarre, future Henri IV, married in 1573 Françoise de Courdemanche who, it is said, will make several honors of the residence to welcome the Vert-Galant.  The property remains in the hands of the family Le Coustellier until 1616, date when it is sold and subsequent purchases to 1854, the building wasthen  bought by the City of Alençon in 1861 in the project, it is then used in 1865 to house the fine arts exhibition, as a barracks in September 1871, then converted into a nursery school.

The Historical Society moved into two rooms from 1906 to 1927, when the museum was built there until 1981. The school of music found its place in the building until 1973. The Hôtel du Mesnil now houses exhibition halls and the services of the Tourist Office. In the garden, there is a granite window, with a lintel double brace and shield, from the destruction of the oven ban which was located rue du Bercail. This window would be that of the girl’s room, or of the wife, of the keeper who would have had kindness for the King of Navarre , again!  in 1576. At the foot of the Maison d’Ozé there is an experimental garden of  585 m2 of orchards managed for maintenance by the town of Alençon and the Orne Horticulture Society.

City of Alencon on heritage and monuments

Tourist office of Alencon on things to see and do

There you go an unique walk and very educational to get knowledge into the city of Alençon. Do hope you enjoy this off the beaten path gem of the Orne in  Normandy.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!

Ok I kind of like this exercise on th streets of my belle France. I love to walk and even thus not a forest walker while in the city they need to keep up with me lol! And so lucky to have such a wonderful collection of towns that are just gorgeous to walk on them. Let me tell you briefly on the nice streets of Alençon.

Alençon is in the Department of the Orne,no. 61 in the region of Normandy. Alençon is at the crossroads of the national road RN12 connecting Paris with Brittany , which I use extensively as not a toll road! The city is located at 192 km from Paris and 158 km from Rennes.

The hugely beautiful street here is the Grande Rue.

The Grande-Rue  connects with the streets of rue de Fresnay and rue de Saint-Blaise. Alençon probably owes its birth, towards the 4C, to the intersection of a commercial road, uniting Spain and England by Maine and Normandy which probably ran along the streets or rues de  Le Mans, Bas-de-Montsort, Sarthe and Grande-Rue, as well as the Sarthe river on which a ford was arranged near the bridge of Sarthe. Constituting the main artery of the city in the Middle Ages, connecting the gates of Sées and Barre, it was called the rue du Chateau, rue Notre-Sire-le-Comte in 1282, Le-Conte in 1297, Monsieur -Le-Duc and Monsieur-le-Prince, named after its lords. The Grande-Rue, which will be widened between 1752 and 1756, is attested in 1364 in its current form.

There are plenty to see here and just gorgeous I like to mentioned them in brief. You can see the balconies of buildings of the 18C bearing the numbers 1 and 11; at No. 6, with its balconies, lintels, capitals, cornice, curvilinear pediment and skylights, built in 1858; Nos. 12 to 32 which offer typical Alençon facades of the 18C, decorated with wrought iron balconies, the first and the last of which have empty niches; and the facade covered with essences of the Petit Nègre, gabled house with overhanging floors, from the 15-16C, at No. 37. At No. 38 is an old court entrance which gave access to the Tribunal du Commerce or commercial court. The house n ° 44 occupied today by a pastry shop, at the corner of the rue du Bercail and Grande-Rue 160, facing the Notre-Dame Basilica, (see post) preserves the characters of a 15C building under its renovated facade

The following buildings are from the 18C. The numbers 52-54 are noticeable by their balconies and the 57 by its wooden panel. The part of Grande-Rue located between this crossroads and the Saint-Léonard Church (see post) is lined with buildings of architectural interest, with beautiful granite facades with pretty wrought iron balconies. Notable buildings include No. 76 dated 1860; the 77 with its stone facade, its pilasters, its frames, its paintings of carved bays and its moldings; the sign of the charcuterie at no. 79 which proclaims in the form of rebus “It is good from the feet to the head”; the No 81 with its half-timbered facade; the former porch of No 83, which gave access to the establishment of the nuns of Providence; the No 109 with its beautiful wooden skylight and the balconies of the no. 111. It is at No. 118, that Jacques Hébert, the famous revolutionary founder of the newspaper Le Père Duchesne, was born in 1757. The two windows are lintels double brace and shield.

Further at no  123,from the end of the 15C, has a door surmounted by a lintel hug and shield; on its timber-framed façade with corbelling, one can see a shield with a carved monogram representing initials and a key, perhaps the emblem of a locksmith.  At Nos. 135-137, from the 15C, with a large molded beam, are timber framed and bricks with corbelling, and the door of 137 is embellished with an arch in brace and escutcheon. In the past, the houses were equipped with galleries or awnings, called “porches”, protecting the onlookers from the rain or the sun, like that of the n ° 150, from the 15-16C, with three arcades with big round piers in granite . The buildings at no 153-157 are provided with balconies and the first has a beautiful door with small panels Louis XIII; the No 156 is 15C, and the no 158, from the 16C, has a skylight, a covered terrace and an iron balcony; at no  163, an octagonal stair tower of the 15C and, at No. 171, a Virgin overlooks the crossroads of the Étaux.

Moving on to other very nice streets on our walks we come to the Rue du Bercail. At no  6 is the Tribunal de Commerce. Built in the 15C and renovated in the 17C, the building was initially the home of a noble Normand family , the Érard de Ray, and was historically known by the name of Hôtel Erard de Ray. It was between 1636 to 1666  the seat of the General super intendant of Alençon. By an edit law of March 1710, the consular jurisdiction of Alençon was here that in 1790 became the seat of the Tribunal de Commerce. At rue du Bercail 15 you have the Hôtel Radigue  at 60 meters from the Basilica of Notre-Dame.

Another interesting street is that of the Rue du Jeudi (Thursday street) you can see the houses at no 42 44  dating from the 18C with a date shown on the façade of 1762. At No  31-33 also from the 18C it keeps its joinery on the first and second floor. The first floor retains balconies. At No 40 also dates from the 18C. And of course here is the post office La Poste!

And we have the Place  du Gén De Gaulle  located at the northern entrance to the city at the junction of Basingstoke, Quakenbrück and Wilson avenues, Demées and Saint-Blaise streets and boulevard de Strasbourg. Probably formed in the 17C, attested under the name of the Place de la Pyramide in 1898, it bears the name of Charles de Gaulle since 1947 and was inaugurated on the following July 14. More than half a century later, the name “Place de la Pyramide” is still used by most of the local folks.

And lastly, the  rue de la Poterne, with the Porte de la Poterne gate, destroyed in 1724, was a secondary opening pierced in a tower of the ramparts of a narrow passage, still existing, only allowing pedestrians to circulate.Quant indeed.

There you go a nice slow walk in old town Alençon, a wonderful experience indeed. Do walk my belle France and you will be enchanted , millions have! me too!!! Enjoy the streets of Alençon.

Some general webpages to help you plan your trip here are

City of Alencon on heritage and history

Tourist office of Alencon on things to see and do

So now , remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!

Don’t ask me why but usually do not take photos of government buildings well maybe the city hall but not others. And do not know why took of them all while visiting Alençon! I guess looking back they all have wonderful architecture and on most a nice piece of history. Hope you enjoy the government buildings of Alençon! Remember in the Orne dept 61 of the region of Normandy!

The Préfecture (regional govt) of the Orne  is at 39 Rue Saint-Blaise , and was originally a mansion built around 1630 by the election of Alençon, Charles de Fromont de Bouaille, Lord of the Besnardière. In 1676, Elisabeth d’Orléans, half-sister of the ” Grande Demoiselle”, and cousin of Louis XIV, Duchess of Guise and apanagist of the Duchy of Alençon, took possession of it.

Since 1815, the Hotel Fromont de La Besnardière has become the Prefecture of the Orne Department 61.  They gardens are open to the public only on heritage days. The hotel which houses the prefecture was built around 1630 by Charles Fromont of Besnardière, of Alençon. Elegant building of pure Louis XIII style, the hotel Fromont de La Besnardière consists of a central pavilion, with pyramidal roof and broken pediment, and two side pavilions, lower and more important, with high roofs.

Elisabeth d’Orléans had decided to bequeath her home to the Hôtel-Dieu, but after her death an endless family lawsuit took place and the hotel was finally recovered by king Louis XV in 1751. The latter gives it to the City to house the intendants. They will remain there until 1792. The main house, the pavilion adjoining, on the right, the two concierge pavilions on the right and left of the entrance gate. Only the park/garden can be visited. Belonging to the Department of the Orne since 1800, it makes the prefecture on same year. The Hôtel Fromont de La Besnardière is one of the most beautiful prefectural residences of France.

Official préfecture of the Orne dept 61

The Palais de Justice or courthouse at Place du Maréchal Ferdinand Foch was built from 1818-1824 in Neo Classic style. It was built due to the visit of Napoléon 1er in 1811 to Alençon. Not much to write about a courthouse just a wonderful architecture! and great free parking area!!

Official govt Courthouse of Alençon

The present Hôtel de Ville or  City Hall at Place du Maréchal Foch is at least the fifth building assigned to the municipal administration. In 1444, Alençon already owned a City Hall, a memory of the former municipality founded, it is said, by William III first Earl of Alençon, but its location is unknown. This City Hall, disappeared during the English occupation, is restored by Louis XI in 1473 and installed in a house located in the rue aux Goguets , now current  rue de l’Ancienne-Mairie which remains until around 1650, when it is transferred to Place du Palais  in a house built in 1587. In 1728, a fourth building was built near the former courthouse which stood on the site of the Hotel des Postes and it was in 1783 that the foundation stone of the present City Hall was laid. It is built on the site of part of the castle, and  is in 1790 that the municipal administration settles in the building whose campanile is completed in 1797.

The City Hall is a classic-style, Louis XVI style freestone construction. The building curves gracefully into a circular arc and the facade, supported by pilasters, is imbued with great nobility. It is surmounted by a rectangular pediment and balustrades evoking the Petit Trianon. Inside, the staircase holds the eye and the City Hall, with its Directoire style chandelier, is remarkable. The woodwork of the salon  is of the late 18C. A semicircular window, filling the middle in the place of the clock, is framed by a horizontal band while the body itself of the pyramid is decorated with garlands. The latter has been replaced by a wooden entablature garnished with zinc. Above, the lantern is crowned with a small dome surmounted by an iron flag. All different was the octagonal campanile with its arched windows, cornice and roof, the ridges of which followed the curves of the pyramid. The summit was formed by the ducal crown; in the middle rose a strongly downward Corinthian column supporting an eagle. it should be known that at the beginning, the City Hall only included the central part. It was not until 1839 and 1854 that the north and south wings, which belonged to private individuals, were acquired by the town of Alençon. Restored from 1997, the City Hall was inaugurated in 1999.

City of Alençon on the City Hall

And there you go a review of government in the city of Alençon, dept 61 of the Orne in the region of Normandy. And who said, government buildings should be awful, these are nice me think. Enjoy the government buildings of Alençon!

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!