From the historic center to the Saint André square, and passing by Notre Dame square, you have a date with history, its anecdotes, and plots in the shadow of inner courtyards.
Discover the riches of the old heart of Grenoble and the famous or not so famous people that once lived there.

Ground floors made of stone in the heart of the city

One of the characteristics of Grenoble's old city is the systematic presence of ground floors made of carved stone.

This presence is of course not due to chance.

Ever since its creation, the city was in danger of the rising of the Isere river, often combined with the rising of the Drac river.

Since autumn was the main flooding season, the water would get into the homes and leave them damp throughout winter.

Houses belonging to the less fortuned, not built of stone, often were weakened by the waters. It was not rare for such houses to collapse.

After the terrible floods of Sept. 14 and 15, 1733, the Parliamentary Bureau of Finances, which took care of urbanism issues, mandated that all the dwellings built from then on be equipped with stone ground floors.

This rule was followed until the beginning of the 20th century. Most of the time, Fontanil limestone was used in the construction.

Thanks to the rules fixed by the ZPPAUP of Grenoble, the restoration and renovation of these facades allows passers-by to really appreciate the beauty of this architectural particularity and the mezzanines above them.

 

Lambrequins

Grenoble's facades feature two particular characteristics that are closely connected: an almost total absence of outer shutters and the presence of decorative metal, called lambrequins, that decorate the window lintels. Their presence often intrigues visitors and tourists.

It is a rare home indeed that is located in the center of the city and equipped with exterior shutters.

This is explained by the fact that many Grenoble homes were equipped with wooden shutters on the inside. Many homes in the city center still feature these inner shutters.

During the 19th century, Venetian blinds were all the fashion. This new system of window dressing consisted of large wooden blades linked together by a cord that when pulled, would raise or lower the horizontal blades. The lambrequins were installed in order to hide the Venetian blinds when they were open, as the locals found them to be a disgraceful distraction from the façade.

Lambrequins are generally made of cast iron, though they can also be made of sheet iron or even of wood.

The word "lambrequin" originates from the interior decoration.

An interior lambrequin was thick fabric with a scalloped border, often accented with fringes or tassels and that decorated a window gallery or a bed canopy.

Very often used on the 19th century facades, lambrequins have become a highly prized decorative feature.

Their presence makes it impossible to install any kind of exterior shutters, however.

This is why many disappeared during façade renovations with little concern for heritage conservation.

The city of Grenoble does not have a monopoly on lambrequins, which are also found in other cities, including Lyon and Toulouse.

 

Header

Antique ironwork

Capital of the old royal province of the Dauphiné and parliament seat, Grenoble was a city of many noble and well off families during the Ancien Regime.
From this period in history, the city has preserved a large quantity of wrought iron featuring interesting creations from 17^th and 18^th century local locksmiths.

 

The most beautiful fanlights, dating from the second half of the 17th century, are found rue de Bonne, place Sainte Claire, rue du palais, quai Stéphane Jay.

The fanlights often integrate the date of their creation into their design, as is the example at number 3, rue du palais (1670).

Many facades have kept their elegant 18^th century railings, often decorated with leaves, such as at rue Barnave (n°22), rue Brocherie (N°2, 4 et 6), rue Chenoise, rue Lesdiguières, rue Renauldon (n°7), and Notre Dame square.

The Lesdiguières townhouse still has its large 18th century balcony.

Saint André square, just opposite the old parliament building, the 18^th century railings of the restored facades have been beautified with gold leafing accents, and project carried out as part of the ZPPAUP.

Beautiful iron gates, also from the 18th century, decorate the Jardin de ville.

 

 

The ones located opposite the Lesdiguières townhouse date from the beginning of the century, while those of the doorway opening onto the rue Montorge, in Louis XVI style, were created at the end of the century.

Many stairways inside Grenoble's townhouses are made of cast iron.

These are usually only visible as part of a guided visit. The honor stairway of the old Episcopal palace (current Museum of the Old Bishopric), built in 1673, is freely accessible during the museum's opening hours.

One of the old city's most precious cwrought iron treasures is without a doubt the sacristy grill in the Saint André Collegiate church, located on the eastern side of the chevet.

From either the 14th or 15th century, it remains a mystery, especially regarding the advanced technology used in its creation.

In an ordinary grill, all the square-shaped horizontal bars intersect with the vertical bars, notably where the bars are flat.

As for the Saint André grill, the bars change direction every three or four bars, making the grill look a little like a piece of woven cloth.

For example, the first three horizontal bars penetrate the first three vertical bars. But then, the next three vertical bars penetrate the next three horizontal bars and so on.

Furthermore, the bars do not intersect at their flat sides, but at their angular sides.

Even today, professional iron workers wonder how this remarkably solid grill could have been created.

 

Header

Canon ball, Jardin des Dauphins

Le Jardin des Dauphins, as it is today, was completely transformed before being open to the public in 1909.

It was the Grenoble Promotional Union that commissioned these large works project as part of its 20th anniversary celebration.

During the park's transformation, an ancient canon ball was found and was embedded in the rock.

Its presence is no surprises, as the site was once home to military fortifications.

First built by the Duke of Lesdiguières at the end of the 16th century, the site was transformed by General Haxo in 1830. It wasn't until the beginning of the 20th century that the military site was declassified.

 

Austro-Sard bullet hole, rue Joseph Fourier

The Sassenage stone door frame, set into the wall of Pierre Termier high school, bears the mark of an Austro-Sard bullet.

This venerable vestige bears witness to the attack and siege of the city by Austo-Sard troops in early July 1815.
As early as July 5, enemy troops had surrounded the city.

Violent combat exploded the day after, July 6, starting around 6 in the morning and going on until 11 a.m.
The Grenoble battalions, placed on the city's ramparts had inflicted incalculable damage.

Several hundreds of enemy soldiers were taken down.

The enemy requested an armistice, which was accepted until noon July 9.
That day, the city of Grenoble officially capitulated.
Louis XVIII, king of France's return to Paris was announced.

 

Header

Moulded cement decoration

In the second half of the 19th century, a new building material appeared in Grenoble, destined to decorate the city's apartment buildings. It was concrete, more commonly known as "moulded cement" at the time.

It's no random occurance that concrete was used early in Grenoble.

The city and the Isere department became the cradle of the French cement industry very early on.

As early as 1842/43, a cement factory located just a few hundred meters from the old center, near the Gateway to France, began producing excellent quality cement from limestone rocks mined nearby.

With a 24% clay content, the limestone was perfect for hydraulic cement, which could set in a humid environment, according to the formulas expressed by Louis Vicat in 1818 in his treaty on hydraulic binders.

 

 

 

The cement rapidly became used in many different applications, including facade decorations.

Consisting of extremely fine powder, it allowed for rather audacious mouldings and ornamentation follies, was possible to obtain a rich sheen, and create convincing marble imitations.

It was also much less costly to use moulded cement instead of carved stone-as much as 25 times cheaper!

Many moulding companies offered a wide variety of manufactured pieces in their catalogues.

This explains the extraordinary wealth and variety of existing decorations, which were freely decided by the architects or owners.

Certain architects, like Alfred Berruyer or Chatrousse and Ricoud were particularly interested in moulded cement and contributed to its widespread use.

It was these last two architects who designed the prestigious building on rue Félix Poulat: the elephant building (n° 6, former Berthelot cement company headquarters) and the neighboring n° 8, the former Grand Hôtel Moderne.

A part from the ground floor and mezzanines made of stone, all of the façade ornemenations were made of moulded cement.

The further west you go, towards the Berriat/Saint Bruno neighbourhoods, the more moulded cement is used, even on the ground floor.

Here are a few facades decorated using moulded cement: former headquarter of the Porte de France cement company (n°28 avenue Alsace-Lorraine) ; old townhouse of the Perrin glove company (n°1 rue Guy Allard) ; Immeuble de rapport (n°10 place Notre Dame) ; maison (n°35 rue Nicolas Chorier).

The most prized example of moulded cement buildings remains the Casamaures in Saint Martin le Vinoux (n°8bis avenue Général Leclerc).

This orientalist-styled mini-palace, one of Europe's oldest moulded cement buildings, was built in 1855 for a rich Grenoble industrial tycoon.

This surprising edifice, with its 52 columned façade and its excessive arches, has been classified as a historical monument since 1986 and is open to the public.

 

Header

Markers from the 1859 flood

Markers from the 1859 flood

The city of Grenoble, with the Isere and Drac rivers running through it, has always been in danger of terrible floods.

Despite the construction of the Isere quais in Grenoble, finished around 1869, the construction of dykes on the Drac in 1878 and the construction of the Isere dykes running the river's entire length in 1972, the risk of flooding is never completely eliminated.

The flood by which all other floods are measured and that whose statistical data was used to define the city's flood prevention plan, is the flood of Nov. 2, 1859.

This flood, which lasted two days and flooded the entire city, was the most devastating that the city suffered in the 19^th century.

It was caused by heavy rain in the region during the month of October 1859, which in turn cause the river waters to rise dramatically.

On Nov. 1, a very warm southerly wind accelerated the melting of the snow on the surrounding mountains, worsening the situation.
That same day, the waters began flooding the city.
The next day, Nov. 2 around 3 p.m., water was everywhere and continuted to rise until around 8 p.m.

Between 30 cm and 1m85 of water had invaded the streets of the city before the flood waters begain receding.

This terrible flood remained in the people's minds and in the 1880, the city of Grenoble had 30 or so cast iron flood markers installed to remind the inhabitants just how high the waters became in 1859.
These iron markers, on which is inscribed the phrase "crue de l'Isère" (Isere flood), were mounted in several places in the old city and the 19th century neighborhoods.
In the 1880s, 122 iron circular markers of the Bourdalouë style were put up, specifying the altitude. Only 19 of these markers have been preserved.

 

Header

Solar clock of the former Jesuit college

Solar clock of the former Jesuit college

An exceptional piece of Grenoble heritage awaits you on the second floor of the honor stariway in the old Jesuit college, which is today Stendhall high school.

Created in 1673 by Father Jean Bonfa, the solar clock is an extraoridinary reflective sun dial which gives much information, most of which is linked to astrology.

Come discover this remarkable example--today the only one in the world--of the science of the 17^th century Jesuit fathers.

 

Palindrome door

Palindrome door

Header