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Origin and history

The Convent des Calvairiennes de Saint-Cyr, located on Rue Papu in Rennes, was founded in the 17th century on the site of a priory destroyed by the Normans in the 10th century. This priory, dependent on the episcopal estate, was ceded in 1032 to the abbey of Saint-Julien de Tours before being abandoned in the sixteenth century. The Calvairians, a religious order, acquired the site in 1633 and built a convent there, later adopting Jansenist doctrines. In 1792, the convent was seized during the Revolution and turned into a barracks, then into a prison until 1808, before becoming a shelter for young girls.

In the 19th century, the establishment was taken over by the nuns of the order Our Lady of Charity, who developed a laundry room to finance their activities. The chapel was destroyed during an allied bombing in 1943, killing three nuns. After the war, the convent was enlarged and partially rebuilt, notably by architects Novello and Coüasnon. The two original building bodies, dating from the 17th century, were listed as historical monuments in 1986. Today, the site houses a retirement home and student housing, after being bought by the town hall of Rennes.

The convent illustrates the successive transformations of a religious building in response to social needs: shelter, education, care and housing. Its architecture combines 17th-century elements (shale coats, arcade cloister) and modern reinforced concrete additions. The site also preserves traces of its spiritual past, such as calvary and oratories in the park. The archives and old plans (Caze de la Bove, cadastre of 1842) attest to its urban evolution in a district marked by the confluence of Vilaine and Ille.

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