The courtyard | ©Anecdotrip.com / CC-BY-NC-SA
Before the great fire of 1487 (which destroyed a part of the city), deputy mayors of Bourges (échevins in French) used to gather in the priory of Notre-Dame-la-Contale.
Once it was destroyed by the fire, they needed another gathering place.
The mayors decided to raise a city-hall in middle of the city, put up against the medieval rampart.
The ground floor was composed of two rooms, including the Council bedroom with its huge chimney. The gallery, outside, was added in the 17th century by architects Lejuge and Gargault.
At the end of that century, deputy mayors moved in Jacques Cœur’s palace. Then their city house was transformed into the current Estève museum dedicated to Maurice Estève, a painter born in Culan (Cher).