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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The former Conventual House of the Ladies of Retreat, located in the Place de la Tour-d-Auvergne in Quimper, was built in the early eighteenth century to accommodate spiritual retreats. Founded in 1678, the community first occupied temporary housing, including the former Jesuit college, before building the current building from 1713. This building illustrates the rise of women's congregations in the seventeenth century, dedicated to the spiritual accompaniment of lay people in Brittany.

After the Revolution, the convent was confiscated and turned into a barracks for the National Gendarmerie. In 1974, an administrative reorganization led to the departure of local units, and the site became the headquarters of the Finistère gendarmerie group. The architecture, marked by a rigorous classical style, retains its original elevations, its 17th century central staircase and the remains of the chapel, now divided into several rooms.

An ongoing restructuring project aims to restore the original volume of the chapel to a hall of honour opening onto the courtyard. The historic fence, consisting of walls, pillars and grids overlooking the square, also remains. The ensemble, including facades, roofs and remarkable interior elements, has been protected by an inscription under the Historic Monuments since 2010.

Owned by the Finistère department, the building combines religious heritage and contemporary military use. Its central location in Quimper, near the Place de la Tour-d'Auvergne, makes it a witness to the urban and institutional transformations of the city since the Ancien Régime.

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