Alençon's Stone-Faced Shenanigans: A Yarn as Tangled as the Facade

Now, Alençon, this charming fellow has a hidden past. Pinpoint its fourth, stone-faced grandeur on Place du Maréchal Foch, but don't be fooled; this isn't the town's first dance. To start with, there was a 12th-century extravagance, commissioned by one William III, Count of Ponthieu and Alençon, making its home on Place Carnot. A simple Hundred Years' War blunder took care of that. Swiftly replaced in 1473, thanks to Louis XI, we're on town hall number two.

Then, the third, parked on Place du Palais in 1650. But Alençon wasn't quite finished playing hide and seek. The most flamboyant and grandest of all, the fourth, lounges elegantly in the Louis XVI style on Place du Maréchal Foch, complete with Ionic order pilasters, but primarily adorned with secrets. Dig a little deeper during the renovation, you'll find a treasure trove of posters that tell a fascinating yarn. Yet, who's the jester in this town hall farce, and why keep these secrets buried, hmm?

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons