City Hall

Here, tucked away behind its wrought-iron gate, you will find Nantes’ beautiful City Hall. Today, the buildings accommodate the mayor’s offices, the city council, and various administrative departments. It is one of Nantes’ major symbols that has represented the city for centuries. The creation of a city hall in Nantes dates back to 1470, when Duke Jean V authorised the creation of a city council, which consisted of a group of bourgeois citizens who met with representatives from the king in “ Maison des Engins” on Bouffay Square. Later in 1491, the wedding of Charles VIII to Anne of Brittany became a total game changer. The fate of Brittany was now intimately linked to that of France. The king donated a house to the city council, located on Exchange Square from where you are arriving. It was called Hotel de la Prévôté, because at the time, a prevost was the king’s steward, enforcing justice and collecting taxes on an estate. However, the house soon became too small, sometimes leading the meetings to be held in the city’s convents. In 1560, things changed again with the arrival of the French king François I, who founded the assembly of ten aldermen, who were municipal magistrates accompanied by a king’s representative. They all requested for a proper Town Hall. Subsequently, the king placed them in the Derval Manor built in the 15th century. It is the building you are looking at right now. As you can imagine, the manor was extended and modernised over the centuries, but the fact remains that Nantes City Council has been housed in the same premises since 1578! And that’s no mean feat!