Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Ursulines chapel, also known as the Chapel of the Holy Family, was built between 1688 and 1690 to serve the Convent of the Ursulines of Vannes, founded between 1627 and 1670. This convent welcomed a community of nuns from Tréguier. The chapel, the only remaining part after the 1949 fire, is built in granite (lower part) and tuffeau (upper part), with a facade adorned with the Latin inscription Sacrae Familiae.

During the Revolution, the convent (excluding chapel and sacristy) was sold to a certain M. Mocquart. In 1802, the bishop of Vannes, Bishop Mayneud de Pancemont, erected an oratory. The chapel, which became the property of the Jesuits around 1850, was transformed into a library after 1870, with a floor dividing space into two levels. She escaped the 1949 fire, but her choir was partially destroyed.

Ranked a historical monument in 1988, the chapel retains its original façade, while its interior, redeveloped, now houses books. The date of 1690, which was once visible on the wall, disappeared in recent restorations. Its location, between the large house and the hotel Le Verger du Teno, offers a perspective from the port of Vannes.

Architecturally, the facade combines granite and limestone, with a door in the middle of the hanger framed with pilasters and surmounted by a window. The sides, more sober, are made of woollen or coated. The painted panel of the chapel, partially preserved, bears witness to its original decoration.

The convent, largely rebuilt after 1949, left only this chapel, symbol of the church heritage of the seventeenth century. Its history reflects the political upheavals (Rvolution, change of owners) and urban (fires, reconstructions) of Vannes.

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