Tours - Hôtel de ville de Tours / Tours City Hall (France)
N 47° 23.428 E 000° 41.371
31T E 325631 N 5251144
Two distinctive stone town's coats of arms you can find on the upper part of the facade of Tours City Hall (Hôtel de ville de Tours) in Tours.
Waymark Code: WM9DPP
Location: Centre-Val-de-Loire, France
Date Posted: 08/07/2010
Views: 49
Two distinctive stone town's coats of arms you can find on the upper part of the facade of Tours City Hall (Hôtel de ville de Tours) in Tours.
Beautiful Neo-Renaissance Hôtel de ville de Tours (Tours City Hall), located at prominent location in Tours city centre - Place Jean Jaurès, was built between 1896-1904 by architect Victor Laloux. The monumental building, disproportionately large compared to the square Jaures and nearby staying Courthouse, is reflecting the republican virtues and the Tours municipal authority. The Town Hall and the whole environment of Place Jean Jaurès evoke also a Parisian architecture style. On the richly decorated facade you can find numerous statues and also these two town's coats of arms.
According to Balzac, Tours (pop. 142,000) is "laughing, in love, fresh, flowery, and perfumed better than all the other cities of the world." Although Balzac might have been confusing his birthplace with his idea of the perfect woman, Tours has charmed travelers and locals alike since the Roman era. Born out of the chaos of the Hundred Years’ War, the city reigned as the heart of the French kingdom in the 15th and 16th centuries. During WWII, Tours sustained enormous losses, and few monuments remain to attest to its former status. Today, joggers fill the paths along the banks of the Loire, and after sunset, the city’s 30000 students take over the cafe-lined boulevards and the animated place Plumereau.