Crémieu City Hall

Historic site and monument

Image illustrative — © Libre de droit - BIT Crémieu

5 place de la Nation-Charles de Gaulle
38460 Crémieu

Since 1791, the town hall—then known as the “maison communale”—has been housed in the former convent of the Hermits of St. Augustine. Two beautiful rooms are open to visitors: the “salle du chauffoir” and the former chapter house, which now serves as the city council chamber.

Since the Revolution, the town hall has been housed in the former convent of the Hermits of Saint Augustine. Above
the entrance door, set within a stained-glass window, are the town’s coat of arms on a background of gold and azure, which are the colours of the Dauphiné.

In 1317, there were only about ten Hermits of Saint Augustine, but gradually the convent was enlarged and embellished thanks to the generosity of John II and, above all, his son Humbert II, who was to be the last Dauphin of the Dauphiné, as he sold it in 1349 to the Crown of France.

To the right of the entrance, the turret with its mullioned windows houses a spiral staircase: all signs of a somewhat late Renaissance style in the Dauphiné. Above the cartouche bearing the date 1547, a bas-relief sculpture depicts the coat of arms of the Dauphiné, which has been scraped away, along with two decapitated angels. Should this be seen as evidence of revolutionary vandalism or damage linked to the Wars of Religion ?