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Origin and history

The Hotel des Penitentes, originally called the home of the Voûte, is built at the end of the 15th century by Benedictine religious of Saint-Nicolas in the Doutre district. This building was initially used as a shelter in case of disturbances, before being transformed in 1649 to accommodate a community of penitent ladies. The latter received women of bad life, locked up by police order or repentance, as well as prostitutes in a correctional home added at the end of the seventeenth century. The site functioned as both prison and hospital until 1857.

The hotel's architecture is heterogeneous, combining elements of flamboyant gothic (body of houses on the right), First Renaissance (central wing) and Second Renaissance (gateway). Inside, an exceptional Renaissance fireplace bears witness to the decorative richness of the era. The building thus illustrates the stylistic evolutions between the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, while reflecting its charitable and repressive use.

Located in the Doutre, a medieval district rich in ancient buildings, the Hotel des Penitentes is located in an urban context marked by the presence of numerous religious and civil buildings from the 15th and 16th centuries. Its history is linked to the social and architectural transformations of Angers, particularly under the influence of religious communities and charitable institutions. The monument remains a rare testimony of the history of marginalized women and the prison practices of the Old Regime.

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