Place de la Nation

Historic site and monument

Place de la Nation-Charles de Gaulle
38460 Crémieu

This square is the former courtyard of the Hermits of Saint Augustine, a mendicant religious order that lived on the alms given to it. A monumental pendulum fountain was erected here in 1823.
Place de la Nation took its name during the Revolution.

The Place de la Nation can be accessed via the 17th-century gateway on Rue des Augustins, whose alternating rustication reveals a classical style. This decorative pattern of alternating stone reliefs lends a regular rhythm to
the frame. This gateway served as the boundary wall for the Augustinian convent. At the base of each of its
pilasters, rounded stone blocks known as ‘chasse-roues’ or ‘chasse-moyeux’ were used to
protect the wall from passing carts. The name ‘Place de la Nation’ dates back to the Revolution, when
the entire convent complex became ‘property of the nation’. Prior to this acquisition, it was the courtyard of the Hermits
of Saint Augustine, a mendicant religious order living on donations made to them, donations which could
take the form of levies on taxes. The Dauphin Jean II permitted them to settle there from 1317,
even authorising them to build their convent against part of the southern curtain wall. However, it was his son Humbert
II, the last Dauphin of the Dauphiné, who would be the most generous towards them.