The Hôtel de Ville (French pronunciation:[otɛldəvil], City Hall) is a municipal building in Vertou, Loire-Atlantique, in western France, standing on Place Saint-Martin.
The old town hall
After the French Revolution the town council originally met in the house of the mayor of the time. This arrangement continued until the mid-19th century when the council decided to commission a dedicated town hall. The site they selected was on the east side of the Church of Saint-Martin. The design involved a two-storey main block of five bays and a pair of single-storey wings which were projected forward. The main block contained the municipal office, while the right-hand wing accommodated the justice of the peace court. The central bay featured a square-headed doorway with a stone surround on the ground floor, and a casement window with a stone surround and a hood mould on the first floor. The central bay was flanked by pilasters supporting an entablature, a cornice and a pediment inscribed with the word "Mairie" (town hall). The other bays were fenestrated by casement windows with stone surrounds.[1]
In the early 1970s, following significant population growth, the council led by the mayor, Luc Dejoie, decided to demolish the old town hall and to commission a modern structure. The site they selected was on the south side of Place Saint-Martin in an area that had previously been occupied by a hat shop.[2] Negotiations took place with the association diocésaine (diocesan association) which owned the land.[3]
The old town hall, which was in a dilapidated condition, was demolished at an early stage of the development which caused some disruption to local services.[4] The new building was designed in the modern style, was built in concrete and glass and was completed in 1974. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of seven bays facing onto the square. The central bay featured a tripartite glass doorway on the ground floor and a tri-partite casement window on the first floor. The other bays were fenestrated by grey-framed casement windows on both floors, and the bays were all flanked by full-height concrete panels, which were slightly projected forward.[5]
Between 2018 and 2020, the area behind the town hall was developed to create a modern reception hall which was accessed from Place Saint-Martin rather than through the former public entrance on Rue Aristide Briand.[6][7] The work was carried out at a cost of €965,000 to a design by CréiD design and included a new Salle des Mariages (wedding room).[8][9][10] Further work to overhaul the heating systems at a cost of €3,800,000 was commissioned in February 2024.[11]
