L'HÔTEL DE VILLE ET SON PARC

Built outside the city in 1803, the present Hôtel-de-Ville is due to the will of Marshal Charles- Nicolas Oudinot to have in his home town a dwelling worthy of his position as a military officer. Built between courtyard and garden according to the aesthetic canons of the time, it was acquired by the municipality in 1868 in order to install his common house and offer the barisiens a green park in the heart of the city. The street facade comprises a sober central main building with two wings in return preceded by two service buildings further down. In the garden, the facade is enhanced by a central projection supporting a triangular pediment. Three oculi and a wide balcony enliven this section. Destroyed by fire in 1813, the hotel was rebuilt identically shortly afterwards. Marshal Oudinot received there the emperor Napoleon on several occasions who preferred his friend's residence to the official building of the prefecture. The Duke of Berry, nephew of King Louis XVIII, was also received there in 1814. Nevertheless, Oudinot somewhat abandoned this residence in favour of his Parisian home and the estate of the former abbey of Jean d'Heurs, acquired in 1808. Just as in this country residence, Oudinot gave an important place to the park which he had designed according to the English fashion of the time. Small constructions, called "fabriques", embellish this complex, which is also crossed by the Canal des Usines. Its opening to the public after 1868 necessitated the completion of a number of improvements such as the filling in of the central pond in front of the hotel's façade or the construction of a music kiosk in 1887 to host the concerts that were organised there. In 1891, gates and a monumental gate in the colours and symbols of the Republic were built in front of the rue du Château.