Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Cordeliers monastery was founded around 1280 in Riom, first on the periphery, then moved intramural in 1360 after the destruction of the suburbs. It included a single-nave Gothic church, partially destroyed by an earthquake in 1490 and restored in 1500. The monks, past from the Conventuals to the Observers in 1507, were preaching, creating tensions with the local clergy. The convent was abolished in 1791, and its bell tower demolished in 1794 by order of Couthon.

Under the Consulate, the site was transformed into a central detention house for eight departments, officially established in 1812 and opened in 1821. Architect Pierre Rousseau supervised the works, adapting the conventual buildings and adding symmetrical wings and a monumental administrative building. The church was divided into three levels, and the galleries of the cloister were raised. The prison, which was active until 2016, was home to resistance during the Second World War.

Partially classified in 1962 and in 2020, the central house illustrates neo-classical prison architecture. After its closure, the municipality envisaged its conversion into an urban district, but collectives opposed the destruction of unprotected buildings. The site, marked by its religious and prison history, remains a major architectural testimony of Riom.

Protected elements include church, cloister, galleries, administration building and entrance gate. The revitalization project, frozen by the Prefect, raises debates about the preservation of this historical heritage, a symbol of the urban and social transformations of the city since the Middle Ages.

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