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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of the Cordeliers of Briançon, located in the district of La Roche, was built around 1390 at the initiative of Antoine de Tholon, Doctor of Law, and Jacques de Montmaur, Governor of Dauphiné. The building, of southern Gothic style, is distinguished by its unique nave with four vaulted bays and a narrow choir, flanked by four chapels. The facade, sober and symmetrical, is crowned with sixteen arches and adorned with a carved portal, topped by a bay in the middle of a hanger. The windows, on the south side, were partially redesigned later.

The adjacent convent, founded simultaneously, initially housed a religious community. In the 18th century, the convent wing was rebuilt, while the church, nationalized during the Revolution, was transformed into an artillery store after 1789. A floor was added at the height of the choir's fallout, then removed between 1976 and 1994 during restorations. As early as 1713, a royal military hospital dedicated to Sainte-Catherine settled there, before being transferred to the convent in 1768, for lack of safe premises. The ensemble, classified as Historical Monument in 1982, maintains remarkable murals.

The history of the church reflects its adaptation to local needs: medieval place of worship, then hospital establishment under the Old Regime, before becoming a military depot. The architectural changes (addition of chapels, reshaping of bays) illustrate its functional evolution. Recent excavations and restorations have enabled us to recover its original volume, while preserving the traces of its successive uses, from Cordeliers to revolutionary soldiers.

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