46. Tours,(l.-et L.) – Le Palais de Justice et le Nouvel Hôtel de Ville – A.P.
[Tours (Indre-et-Loire) – The Courthouse and the New City Hall – A.P.]
Featured on this unused, divided back, early 1900s era black & white postcard is the Courthouse, on the left, and City Hall, on the right, in Tours, France. The card has the typical light greenish tint associated with French postcards of the late 1800s and early 1900s. Along the centerline on the back of the card is IMP-PHOT. A. Thiriat & Cie, Toulouse. Tours is the largest city in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France.
Thiriat was a French printing company that printed postcards, view booklets, and architectural prints from regions across France. The firm was active during the Golden Age of postcards, ca. 1900-1914, and recognized by historians and collectors as the producer of high quality cards.
The Courthouse, designed by architects Jean-Bernard Toussaint Jacquemin-Bellisle and his son, Jean-Charles Jacquemin-Belisle, was built between 1840 and 1843. Not seen on the card is an inner courtyard.
The Tours courthouse has seen high-profile cases tried. The judicial court, the Assize Court, and the departmental court all meet in this building. The Assize court originated in England and Wales in the 12th century. Judges traveled from London to designated areas to hold court twice a year. Decisions concered serious crimes, such as murder, rape, treason and burglary. It also made judgements concerning civil issues, such as land ownership claims handles severe felony crimes. Civil cases were heard with juries of 12 citizens. In 1971 this type of court was replaced by the Crown Court in the United Kingdom. In France a criminal court Cour d’assises, still operates and uses a mixed panel of professional judges and civilian jurors.
The City Hall was designed by Victor Laloux who was native of the city and a professor based in Paris. He also designed the Basilica of Saint Martin, Tours, that was begun in 1886 and completed in 1925 and the passenger building of the Tours station (1896-1898). The groundbreaking for the city hall was in 1896 with the building completed in 1904. This city hall replaces an older twin building complex that was used from 1786 to 1904. Both the city hall and the train station have decorative carvings and statuary. The city hall has large meeting rooms on the ground floor that are used for French civil marriage ceremonies and meetings of the city council.
For additional information, see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tours
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assizes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B4tel_de_Ville,_Tours
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_de_justice_de_Tours [there is an English translation option]
Note: There are AI overviews for both Thiriat & Cie and the Assize Court.
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