Hotel De Ville

The great fire of 1720 levelled 32 roads and over 820 buildings, and left the civic structures of the belfry and presidium near place St Anne severely damaged. Ten years later, the council ratified the proposals of Jacques Gabriel to build a completely new structure incorporating the Town Hall to the south, the Presidium to the north and the clock tower in the centre. The first stone was laid in 1734, and was finished by his son Ange Jacques. The decoration of the building was carried by a hand-picked team under the guidance of the sculpters, Verberkt and Van Der Woort.

The town hall has a formidable presence dominating the piazza, opposite the Opera. The central tower has a niche, currently occupied by flag staffs, which originally had a statue of Louis XV flanked by Hygia, goddess of health, and Bretagne personified. The statue was destroyed in the revolution, though a representation is in the Musee de Bretagne. In 1921 a bronze ensemble of Duchess Anne and Charles VIII by Jean Boucher was put in place. This however was blown up by Breton separatists in 1932.

The pavillions that house the town hall and presidium are built in the classical style, common with many grand civic buildings of the time, with such ornamentation as cornices and grand arcades with alternating classic figure-heads of a bearded man, and a young girl with fulsome cheeks.






Theatre

Le Theatre

Designed in the neo-classical tyle by the architect Charles Millardet and situated on the eastern side of the square, the theatre competes with the Hotel de Ville for dominance in la place de la Mairie. Designed and built during the period of the July Monarchy in the 1830's, it is a political symbol of the liberty of a cultural identity for Rennes. The building is flanked by two eighteenth century batiments that house shops and appartments. The thatre design continues the classic arches, expanding them into the double gallery of the rotunda. The rotunda houses a double grand staircase towards the auditorium. The effect is to incorporate and outclass the buildings on the sides.

The achitectural defile is a deliberate response to the inset clock tower of the Hotel de Ville. This was audacious for the period, possibly a comment on the new wave of liberalism challenging the old authority. The finished design is graceful and an excellent compliment to the older Hotel de Ville on the western side of the piazza. The two grand buildings flank the wayfare down to the grand architecture of the quais. The whole effect is a grand reminder of the pride and history of Rennes, deliberately built to awe and impress.



Houses of Rennes

The cathedral quarter