Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Gilles de Trèves College was founded in 1573 by Gilles de Trèves, Dean of Saint-Maxe College, to educate the young people of Bar-le-Duc and counter Protestant Reformation. The building, completed between 1574 and 1576, opened only in 1582 after the death of its founder. The institution was bequeathed to the city in its will, marking its anchor in local life.

From 1617 to 1762 the college was led by the Jesuits, welcoming figures such as the future Marshals Oudinot and Exelmans. After the Revolution, he became a communal college, including the academicians Edmond Laguerre and André Theuriet. In 1857, he was transformed into a girls' school after the opening of the Imperial High School.

The Renaissance architecture of the college, admired by Montaigne in 1580, is distinguished by an interior courtyard lined with carved galleries with balustrades and a facade on garden adorned with sill windows. Despite the destruction of its main façade in 1831, the building retained remarkable elements such as a bell tower with two bells (1628 and 1776) and a sundial visible from the castle walls.

Ranked a historic monument in 1992, the college closed permanently in 2002. Major restorations were carried out between 2006 and 2015, preserving its architectural heritage. A Latin inscription of 1831, evoking the sustainability of the place, always adorns the entrance porch, witness to its educational and cultural heritage.

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