Step 4
The houses
The town, built in the middle of the 13th century, presents a regular plan of « new town » with three streets along the hill and perpendicular alleys; the suburb is to the north of the city. The facades of the houses towards the clock tower are simple as if they were inhabited by people of inferior rank and wealth, far from the feudal center of the castle, moreover they suffered from the fire of 1815, the facades were covered with a protective plaster. The closer you get to the castle, better decorated facades may be seen.
In the center, the houses are narrow and long due to an annual lordship tax, called cens rapinalis, of 6 deniers per fathead (about two meters). They are four times longer than wide, going from the main street to the rue St-Antoine, so there are two main buildings connected by a long corridor lit by a transom and a gallery with an interior courtyard. The main entrance opens onto the main street, the farm outbuildings are on the opposite side. The most elaborate entrance door is that of No. 32 with double upright, prismatic base, brace, plant motifs, a little man’s face.
Huge cellars are under the houses and some communicate with each other.