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Origin and history

The Campo Santo d'Orléans, built in the 15th and 16th centuries, was originally a cemetery run by the Confrérie des Maîtres Écrivens, an influential corporation before the invention of the printing press. Called Martroi-aux-Corps or Grand Cemetery, he replaced Saint-Aignan Cemetery, which had become insufficient. Its side galleries, erected to protect the places of the nocturnal animals, were partially destroyed during the wars of Religion (XVI century), where chapels and central cross suffered fires and desecrations. The site served as an urban necropolis until 1776, when a royal declaration prohibited intramural burials for hygienist reasons.

In 1786, after the transfer of the bones to the cemeteries Saint John and Saint Vincent (outside the walls), Campo Santo was reassigned to the grain hall until 1884. Its arcades, classified as historical monuments in 1913, housed imperial stables and attices. In the 20th century, a controversial redevelopment (1970-1986) saw the destruction of medieval remains to build an underground parking lot and the Institute of Visual Arts. The Renaissance Gate (16th century), inscribed in 1928, and an Orthodox chapel remain today.

Since the 1980s, the site has hosted major cultural events, such as the medieval market for johannic festivals or the Festival de jazz d'Orléans (until 2014). Its grassy cloister, bordered by 50 arcades of the 16th-17th centuries, dominates an open space on St. Croix Cathedral. The East Gallery, restored in 1824, reproduces the arches in third-point origin, while recent polemics highlight the tensions between heritage preservation and urban modernization.

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