First Enclosure In the 11th century, the initial fortification was constructed, encompassing both the feudal castle and the
Saint-Genès church. Two Romanesque gates were built in this initial wall, allowing passage to the path that led to the town. During the 15th century, it was designated as the "wall of the Palace of Chastel." The primary thoroughfare of this inaugural district of the city is named in commemoration of this structure; it is currently known as the "Rue du Palais," although it should be referred to as the "Rue du Palais du Chastel." The configuration of the streets and squares within the wall does not appear to have been planned according to a strict and pre-established scheme. The initial path remained in the same location; even the construction of the first wall did not result in a significant alteration to the general direction of the path, which entered the enclosure through the "Porte de la Bout" (demolished at the end of the 19th century) at the top of the current rue du Palais and exited by the "Square Tower of the Chancellery" in front of the current . The gate, now backfilled and walled up, can still be seen above the Place du Pirou. The space between the Chastel Palace and the church has always remained open. From the outset, this space was used as a public gathering place in times of peace, but it also served as a refuge for local farmers bringing their herds to safety in times of insecurity. In the 15th century, it was transformed into a cemetery.
Second enclosure At the beginning of the 13th century, the town experienced a period of expansion to the north, resulting in the construction of a new wall surrounding the existing houses. This new neighborhood was served by a significant freshwater spring, later channeled into the Pirou fountain, located close to the initial wall. The primary thoroughfare of this urban expansion is Rue du Bourg. Two further principal thoroughfares were subsequently constructed: the Rue du Pourcharesse (subsequently renamed Rue Lasteyras) and the Rue du Transvaal (subsequently renamed Rue du Bourg). During this period, the appellations assigned to streets in the city frequently derived from geographical sources, either denoting the location of the street or the neighborhood it served. In Thiers, it is uncommon for a street to retain the same designation since the fifteenth century.
Third enclosure In the fourteenth century, a new neighborhood was forming in the relatively protected angle to the east by the "wall of the Palace of Chastel" and to the north by the "wall of the Palace of Bourg." To protect this expansion, a new wall was constructed, known as the "new wall of the city of Thiart," which constitutes the city's third wall. Upon the erection of a new wall, new houses were constructed on either side of the now disused old wall. Initially, a "relay" was left along the old wall. The configuration of the houses resulted in the formation of a new street on either side, situated parallel to the original wall. Furthermore, the wall could serve as the foundation for the facades of houses. At this juncture, the new street followed the remains of the old wall, as evidenced by the second and third walls. The layout of the streets in Thiers remained profoundly shaped by the fortifications, which held unparalleled importance in the city's urban planning. These defensive structures were constructed under the existing space to be protected, optimizing the use of the terrain. Religious considerations and military necessities directed the city's development, and although this is now largely overlooked, it is still discernible in the city's topography, which can be characterized as
picturesque. and the Saint-Jean district in the 18th century. The
Church of St John and the gate of the same name can be seen in the top right-hand corner of the image.
Fourth enclosure In the fifteenth century, the city's expansion was such that a fourth wall was constructed, encompassing the previous three. This final wall, covering a significantly larger area than the preceding ones, was promptly designated the "city wall." The wall's construction was initiated by
Louis II of Bourbon around 1400. At that time, the city was experiencing the final in a series of devastating wars, later known as the
Hundred Years' War.
Fifth enclosure In the sixteenth century, the lordship initiated the construction of a final defensive wall to safeguard the recently developed residential areas on the eastern mountainside, close to the
Durolle River and the
Vallée des Usines. Despite its relatively modest dimensions, this wall represented the closest defensive structure to the aforementioned locations.
Other defensive elements The city's walls and gates were reinforced with protective elements from their construction. These included
embrasures, called
bouches à feu in the region, which allowed archers or gunners to fire. As Michel Combronde notes in
Représentation graphique de la porte Neufve au début du XVe siècle, many loopholes were also in the city's towers and walls. The work of historian André Kristos draws attention to several examples of what are known as
brayettes. It would appear that these are
false braies, a term that was used in the 15th century to describe such structures. They constitute an embankment or
retaining wall that encircles a fortified camp. In the context of premodern
fortification, this ante-chamber was situated between the
moat and the primary defensive wall of a
fortress. The brayette was positioned lower than the main wall to defend it from the moat. Two brayettes were discovered in Thiers. The first, called the "brayette du Chastel," surrounded and protected the Chapter Tower of the first wall, and the second, the "brayette du Bourg," situated further north, protected the Montauld Tower of the second wall. The inhabitants of Thiers were particularly susceptible to the influence of the "new ideas" due to their openness to external influences, particularly those emanating from the Lyon basin. As early as 1551, Antoine Chabrol, a cutler from Thiers, elected to flee to Switzerland. He was among the initial cohort of Protestant migrants seeking asylum in the country between 1549 and 1556. In the subsequent years, numerous individuals from Thiers migrated to
Geneva. The city promptly augmented its fortifications to deter an incursion by the
Huguenots, who increasingly threatened the city. Nevertheless, in 1568, they managed to gain entry and wreaked havoc on a portion of it. From the 17th century onwards, Thiers experienced urban expansion as a consequence of significant economic growth driven by the flourishing in the region. As the population increased, the city undertook various improvements to facilitate movement within the city walls, such as constructing the Saint-Genès pedestrian route (see below). At the end of the 18th century, the city planned the destruction of part of the walls to prevent the collapse of poorly maintained sections and to widen traffic routes. Other parts of the walls were also destroyed to create streets in their place, such as Rue Grenette and Rue Pasteur. Consequently, establishing
Imperial Road No. 89 – subsequently designated as
National Road 89 in 1824 – necessitated the destruction of five defensive towers and two gates. Despite the partial destruction of Thiers' walls, the majority of these fortifications and their associated towers remain intact to this day. The towers are currently used for residential purposes, as evidenced by the Pignat Tower. The walls, meanwhile, serve two distinct functions. Primarily, they support the underlying land on which the city is constructed. Secondly, they offer a foundation for buildings erected directly on the wall. The urban wall of Thiers is notable for its high degree of preservation, with nearly two-thirds of its original structure remaining intact. Despite the destruction of several segments during the 19th century, the wall remains one of the most well-preserved examples in the Auvergne region. From the
Vallée des Usines to the east and the
Limagne plain to the west, the city of Thiers is visible as it is built on a rocky spur surrounded by a belt of walls. This is particularly evident on rue Anna-Chabrol and rue des Murailles, which retain the entirety of the walls that support them. The entire city's walls are classified as a and managed by the (PSMV). This program contributes to protecting and enhancing the city's historical heritage, of which the walls are a part. DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:1100 height:auto barincrement:40 PlotArea = left:15 right:15 bottom:20 top:15 Colors = id:canvas value:rgb(0.97,0.97,0.97) id:grid1 value:rgb(0.80,0.80,0.80) id:grid2 value:rgb(0.86,0.86,0.86) id:Timeperiod value:skyblue id:Timeperiod2 value:rgb(0.86,0.56,0.56) id:gris value:gray(0.7) id:noir value:black id:guerre value:red id:blanc value:white Period = from:1000 till:2050 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:50 start:1000 gridcolor:grid1 AlignBars = justify BackgroundColors = canvas:canvas bars:canvas BarData= bar:Timeperiod barset:Timeperiod2 barset:Timeperiod3 PlotData= width:40 fontsize:S textcolor:noir align:center # Évennements #alignement → width:25 fontsize:S textcolor:black anchor:from align:left color:noir barset:Timeperiod2 #alignement → width:25 fontsize:S textcolor:black anchor:from align:left color:red from:1000 till:1100 shift:105 text:"First enclosure" width:25 fontsize:S textcolor:black anchor:from align:left color:green from:1200 till:1275 shift:80 text:"Second enclosure" width:25 fontsize:S textcolor:black anchor:from align:left color:magenta from:1300 till:1400 shift:105 text:"Third enclosure" width:25 fontsize:S textcolor:black anchor:from align:left color:blue from:1400 till:1500 shift:105 text:"Fourth enclosure" width:25 fontsize:S textcolor:black anchor:from align:left color:yellow from:1500 till:1560 shift:70 text:"Fifth enclosure" #alignement → # Recommencer l'indentation en haut barset:break width:25 fontsize:S textcolor:black anchor:from align:left color:black from:1680 till:1700 shift:25 text:"Partial destructions" from:1801 till:1831 shift:32 text:"Construction~of the RN 89 and 106" from:1818 till:1822 shift:10 text:"Partial restoration" width:25 fontsize:S textcolor:black anchor:from align:right color:black from:1983 till:1987 text:"1985: introduction of the conservation~and enhancement plan" from:2016 till:2020 text:"2018: revision of the conservation~and enhancement plan" == Detailed map ==