Henri IV square

You’ve just reached Henri IV square, a charming village square lined with beautiful half-timbered houses. Most of the houses in the square are listed historic monuments. The houses are so close together that they’re almost touching  each other. This is because in the past, everyone gathered behind the ramparts to protect themselves from attacks, therefore every square centimetre counted! At the time, council tax was calculated on the surface area of the ground floor, hence the ingenious subterfuge of enlarging the building from the first floor.

However, these tightly-clustered wooden buildings were also prone to fire. This is something that Rennes unfortunately learned the hard way with the terrible great fire of 1720. In the 18th century, the square was called Mallièvre, a distortion of the Breton Men-Guevr, meaning goat stone.

By 1860, it was the site of the bird market! During the revolutionary era, it was briefly known as Parliament Square before being renamed Henri IV Square in the 19th century. Keep walking for a few metres to reach the forecourt of Saint-Pierre cathedral.