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Origin and history

The priory of the Benedictines of Lons-le-Saunier was born in the middle of the 12th century. Founded around a church built at the end of the 11th century – itself built on a crypt dating from the first half of the same century – it suffered a devastating fire in 1637. Between 1711 and 1715 Dom Vincent Duchesne undertook a total reconstruction of the convent buildings, including a cloister and wings organized around it. The church, on the other hand, preserves traces of jobs dating perhaps from the eighth century, as well as successive modifications: chapels added in the 15th and 17th centuries, reconstruction of the choir after 1595, and vaulting of the nave after the fire of 1636.

After the French Revolution, the convent was converted into a hotel in Jura in 1790. The buildings are adapted to their new function: in 1809, the architect Gabiot built an entrance to the northeast and modified the structures to accommodate the prefectural services. In 1845, Pourchot built an outside staircase and a northern gate for the church, while in 1849, a second courtyard was created in the east, accompanied by new administrative premises. The bell tower, which was damaged in 1795, was rebuilt in 1880 by Achille Paillot. In the 20th century, restoration works (encrypted in 1935) and extensions (administrative buildings) complete the whole.

The site contains notable archaeological remains, such as a masonry basin known as the fountain of Rome, discovered in the cellars of the old convent buildings and possibly dating from the early Middle Ages. In 1999, part of the convent was classified as a historical monument, including the buildings around the cloister, the 19th century facades, the honorary gate with its wrought iron gate, as well as the ground and archaeological remains. The monumental stone staircase, with a wrought iron ramp, leads to the honour apartments, where original decorations remain.

The building thus illustrates a twofold history: that of a Benedictine priory marked by successive reconstructions, and that of a prefecture whose architecture reflects the political and administrative adaptations of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The major transformations (1809, 1845, 1880) bear witness to the evolution of institutional needs, while the preserved elements (crypt, fountain, decorations) offer an overview of the medieval and classical heritage of the region.

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