Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The monument was originally founded in 1614 as a Jesuit college in Ensisheim, taking over a school created in 1583 by the parish priest Jean Rasser. This college, with five classes, a boarding school and a chapel, was designed to strengthen Catholic teaching in the face of Lutheran influence in Alsace. The Jesuits of Freiburg-en-Brisgau took the direction at the request of the Archduke Léopold, and the works began in 1628, with a church built around 1690 from stones of the Schwartzenthann convent.

In 1764, after the expulsion of the Jesuits, the college was transformed into a begging depot and then into a military hospital between 1793 and 1800. An imperial decree of 1811 converted him into a central house for prisoners, with major changes led by architect Louis-Ambroise Dubut. The establishment gradually expanded, notably with the construction of a cell block in 1886 and a gate completed in 1906.

In the 20th century, the prison was bombed in 1945-46, followed by a mutiny and fire in 1988, resulting in partial reconstruction. In 1938, she received convicts of forced labour after the abolition of colonial bagnes. Together, including the former church partially preserved as a Protestant chapel, was listed as a historical monument in 1987. Today, the central house has 205 places and accommodates inmates serving long sentences.

The site is also linked to contemporary literature: the new La Vengeance du pardon (2017) by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt takes place in part, inspired by the prison world and meetings between prisoners and victims. Architecture combines elements of the seventeenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries, reflecting its successive uses.

External links