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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The hotel of the high dean of Lisieux is a former presbytery built in 1769, at the initiative of Jean-Baptiste-René Le Bas de Fresne, high ecclesiastical dignitary of the city. This building, symbol of local religious power after the bishop-count, replaced an older canonical house. Its architecture reflects the prestige of the post of High Dean, the second ecclesiastical figure of Lisieux in the modern era.

In 1884, the building changed its vocation when the brothers of Christian schools turned it into a school. Saving from the 1944 bombings that ravaged Lisieux, he was bought by the municipality in 1978 to set up the National School of Music and Dance. This reconversion illustrates the adaptation of religious heritage to contemporary cultural needs.

Ranked a historic monument in 1979 for its facades, roofs and interior decorations (four rooms on the ground floor and one upstairs), the hotel of the high dean shows both Lisieux's religious history and its resilience. Its location at 1 Aristide-Briand Street, right in the city centre, makes it a landmark in the urban landscape, linked to local collective memory.

Official protection specifically concerns exterior architectural elements and decorated interior spaces, highlighting their heritage value. Today owned by the municipality, the building combines educational function and preservation of an 18th century heritage, characteristic of Calvados and Normandy.

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