The Haute-Marne département was created on 4 March 1790 and Chaumont became its capital on 22 June 1790. The building housing the current prefecture was built on the initiative of Prefect GIRARD de VILLESAISON and the architect DESCAVES drew up the plans in 1856. Built during the Second Empire (1859-1862), this imposing building with alternating brickwork and stone quoins has a so-called "upside-down" facade, with its back to passers-by, while the actual facade faces the garden. The architecture features a number of elements typical of the Second Empire period: steeply pitched slate roofs (known as "Mansard" roofs), a facade with a stone frame and brick infill, storey bands, harpooned cornices and corner chains, a central pediment, scrolled dormer windows, etc.
Préfecture de Chaumont
