Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The monastery Saint-Nicolas de Vitré finds its origins in a medieval hospital founded in the 12th century, moved in 1222 in the suburb of Rachapt, northwest of the closed city. The present chapel, built in shale and sandstone in a flamboyant Gothic style, dates from the end of the 15th century, a fabled period for Vitré. Its strategic location, near Vilaine and the roads to Fougères, Saint-Malo and Rennes, made it a key place for pilgrims and travellers.

In the 17th century, five august nuns in hospitals settled there in 1655 and built a convent between 1675 and 1707, organized around a cloister and equipped with attic at the Mansart. The site, which also housed a hospital, was expanded with convent buildings in the 17th and 18th centuries. The chapel, classified as a historical monument in 1980, has since 1986 been home to the Saint Nicholas Museum, dedicated to sacred art and religious goldsmithy of the 19th and 20th centuries.

The monastery preserves remarkable elements: a tomb of Canon Robert de Grasmenil (died 1500), a tabernacle in golden wood (1710-1715), murals of the 15th to 16th centuries, and a wrought iron gate of the 17th century. The augusts remained there until 1974. The ensemble, including convent buildings, chapel and fence walls, was fully protected by decree of 2 September 2021.

Today, the site combines religious and cultural heritage, with a unique museum in France for its goldsmith's fund. Its location near Vitré Castle and historical axes makes it a major testimony to the hospitality and monastic architecture of Brittany, marked by seven centuries of architectural and social evolution.

External links