Place Jean Jaurès during the 16th century.
| Hôtel Dieu Saint Bernard de Montjou |
| Built at the start of the 12th century by a
Count of Champagne, the Hôtel Dieu was first named after the nearby Hay market, located
on what is now Place Jean Jaurès. It spread from what is now the Bourse du Travail up to
the rue de la Monnaie. As often in the middle ages, the Hôtel Dieu did not only welcome poor and diseased citizens. It also provided accommodation to foreign travellers and pilgrims. Saint Bernard especially welcomed the Michelots, pilgrims from the East of the Kingdom, and beyond its borders, on their way to the Mont St Michel. The Hôtel Dieu was entirely destroyed during the great fire of 1524, rebuilt in 1536, then finally destroyed in the 1760's, when the Hôtel Dieu Le Comte (rue de la cité) was enlarged. Some of its stones were re-used for the new building. |
|
The Place du Marché au Blé (Hay Market), which parts of the Hôtel Dieu Saint Bernard bordered, counted no less than three "monuments" dedicated to the arts of public execution; a pole to exhibit the remains of the condemned, a gibbet, and an elaborated pillory. One can imagine the first impression of new comers entering the city by the near by gate of Beffroy... |