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Origin and history

The convent of the Ursulines of Quimperlé, founded in the seventeenth century, first settled in Lower Town in 1652 thanks to letters patent of Louis XIV and the support of the Bishop of Cornwall, Bishop of Louët. After a fire, the nuns moved to Upper Town in 1665 on the Bel-Air estate, acquired by Claude de Kerouartz. The building of the chapel (1667–74), financed by the Penfeuenteunyo and Loheac families, costs more than 60,500 pounds. The convent buildings, rebuilt after a new fire in 1683, gradually expanded with the addition of a cloister, a refectory and dormitories in 1720, at a cost of 37,000 pounds.

During the French Revolution, the convent was confiscated in 1793 and turned into barracks, military hospital and prison for the Ursulines, liberated after the fall of Robespierre. Rached in 1800 by Mayor Jean-François Mancel, he was returned to the nuns. In the 19th century, major expansions were made: glazed cloister in 1846, fake vaults in 1856, south wing in 1865 (architect Joseph Bigot), and southeast wing in 1888. The last extension dates from 1895 with an east wing.

The 1905 Law on the Separation of Churches and the State led to the expulsion of Ursulines in 1907. The convent became a school for girls and then a public college (Jules Ferry) in 1946. During the Second World War, he served as a German occupation barracks, with tortured resistance in his basements. After the war, the chapel, used as a gymnasium, was converted into a modern art exhibition space in 1996, while the rest of the buildings still house the college.

Partially listed as historical monuments in 1927 (chapel and monumental door) and 1986 (conventual buildings), the site benefits from major renovations in 2003, including a glass roof and a contemporary building for school restoration. Today, the college welcomes 400 students, and the chapel, managed by the town hall, offers attractive exhibitions (e.g. Yann Kersalé in 2017 with 14,000 visitors).

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