LA RUE DU BOURG

Taking its name from the "Burgum Barri", the district it crosses from one end to the other, the rue du Bourg is one of the main roads of the area
the oldest urban dwellers in the city. On the way to the castle, it offers a great architectural diversity, with Renaissance façades that inspired many writers.
The Bourg, founded in the 5th century on the left bank of the Ornain river inside walls, originally brought together most of the city's population and economic activity as well as a hotel-Dieu. A first castle would have been built within it in the High Middle Ages. The canal which serves it on its south side allows the advent of a first craft industry in particular textiles. Built in Savonnières stone in the first half of the 17th century, the private mansions of the rich patricians have great similarities in plan and elevation with their counterparts in the Upper Town. Later, they offer a rich ornamental decoration, revealing a style that has sometimes been described as Baroque. The search for rhythm through the alternation of triangular and curvilinear pediments, the presence of engaged columns and the exuberant sculpted decoration of hybrid beings, foliage and mascarons, give the ensemble a great richness
ornamental. The house of the two barbels at number 26 of the street, decorated with carved mermaids
coming out of sheaths of foliage, was immortalized by the writer André Theuriet.
In the 18th century, the bays were enlarged, curved and decorated with rocaille motifs. In the following century, the canons of classical architecture were well integrated by the architects into the official buildings, while at the end of this century a new aesthetic - Art Nouveau - emerged, visible in the overhanging construction, called the oriel, of number 59 of the street.

DATAtourisme France