City Hall of VichyFor the city council, the building must be up to the radiance of the spa and accessible. So close to the city center and the train station. Hence the choice of the Place de la Nation. It is in this space, largely cleared, that the Town Hall of neo-Renaissance style is erected.
City Hall of VichyIts decoration, throughout the building, testifies to the thermal vocation of the city. The facade, the roof and the large rooms were inscribed in the inventory of historical monuments in 1990. The facade of the town hall,in cut stone from Estaillades (Luberon) is “enlivened with sculptures: friezes of foliage, horns of plenty pouring fruit. On the columns and capitals, decorated with masks and garlands of fruit, is inscribed the letter V.
City Hall of VichyThe 30-meter-high building has three levels. It is dominated by a skylight decorated with dolphins.
City Hall of VichyThe City’s coat of arms enhances the colored glass clock flanked by sculpted female figures
The municipal building opens on its “salle des pas perdus”, now a reception hall. The visitor can wait there and admire the decoration: “shells pouring water under the arches; the friezes of stalactites at the corners and the plant motifs underlining the doors. After passing through the vestibule, whose ceiling is embellished with “a frieze of foliage and laurels”, one reaches the double-revolution grand staircase, which gives it a certain solemnity. The visitor’s hands rest on its wrought iron banister embroidered with the symbolism of water and rushes.
City Hall of Vichy
City Hall of Vichy
City Hall of Vichy
City Hall of Vichy
City Hall of Vichy
City Hall of VichyIn the wedding hall, abust of the Republic from 1928 rubs shoulders with that of Napoleon III by sculptor Jean-Auguste Barre. “The first snag”canvas by impressionist Norbert Goeneutte, from 1884, “makes visitors smile in this wedding hall. The walls of the town hall host many paintings, the fruit of donations or loans.
In the city council room, the base and furniture are made of oak. A sculpted V, circled with oak leaves, indicates the seats reserved for the mayor and deputies. On the cornices in staff run plant friezes.
City Hall of Vichy
Woodwork in the council chamber
City Council Office
City Hall of VichyThis hall of honor was, for a time, used as a party room, thus for balls, before the construction of a new hall a few steps away. Also, its design was intended to be majestic, both by its decoration and its dimensions. “Of neo-classical style, its rich ornamentation is as follows: “Walls and ceilings with staff caissons are inspired by ancient times, with stucco bases topped by bronze patinated Corinthian capitals. They frame the bay windows overlooking the Place de la Nation (Place de l’Hôtel de Ville). In the keystone, the coat of arms of the City. This room dedicated to the arts is decorated with allegorical figures from Greco-Roman mythology.
City Hall of Vichy
Ceiling of the City Hall of Vichy
Chandelier of the City Hall of Vichy
City Hall of Vichy
City Hall of Vichy
City Hall of Vichy
City Hall of Vichy
