Ancien couvent des Minimes

English translation

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History

Father P. Cotton, confessor of Henri IV, determined the king to issue, in 1609, letters patent by which he authorized, in Orléans, the establishment of a college under the direction of the Minimes. The authorizations were given in 1613. The building was constructed in the style adopted by the Jesuits in the 17th century. The depressed ogive and the round arch are employed indifferently. It was prosperous for more than a century but, around 1786, it was occupied only by a few religious. The buildings subsequently served as barracks, as an exceptional court during the Revolution and finally as departmental archives in 1940. During the Second World War, the roof of the chapel was entirely burned, as were the roofs of the cloister. The buildings were grouped principally around a cloister on one side of which stood a large chapel. The cloister, of rectangular form, having nine bays in its greatest length and seven in the least, is formed of round arches resting on square pillars. It is covered by a ceiling with exposed beams above which rise, according to the sides, one or two storeys. The chapel presents a mixture of Gothic and classical architecture. The great gable of the western facade is composed of an entrance door decorated with two pilasters with circular pediment. It is accompanied on the right and on the left by two small openings ornamented in the same way. Above is found a large pointed-arch window, comprising a stone tracery entirely inspired by those of the 14th century. The vault, now destroyed, was in wood.