Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Ursulines de Tours convent was founded in 1619 and established in 1625 in the Parc de la Petite Bourdaisière, an estate including a brick and stone house with a polygonal staircase turret. Before its definitive construction, the nuns temporarily occupied, from 1626, a hotel located on Rue du Cygne. This convent, typical of 17th century religious architecture, included a chapel of Saint Michael, a church of Notre-Dame-de-l'Assumption (the first stone of which was laid in 1654 and consecrated in 1658), as well as convent buildings organized around a courtyard.

Sold as a national property in 1798, the convent suffered extensive destruction: the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption, an east wing and part of the chapel of Saint Michael disappeared. In the 19th century, the site became a small seminary (1835-1906), then a school. In 1848, architect Gustave Guérin built the chapel Notre-Dame-de-l'Immaculée-Conception, decorated with stained glass by Julien Léopold Lobin. The changes continued until the end of the century, with the partial reconstruction of the east wing and the addition of a western pavilion.

The convent, which was listed as a historic monument in 1941 for its facades and the chapel Saint-Michel, however, lost several key elements: the chapel Saint-Joseph (destroyed in 1948 and rebuilt in 1986) and the chapel of the Sainte-Trinité (rased in the 20th century). Since 1981, the site has been home to the Regional Conservatory of Tours, following a general restoration carried out in 1980. The choir grill, from the convent of the Ursulines of Montauban, was resettled during the 1960s.

The house of the Petite Bourdaisière, integrated into the convent, had initially housed a tapestry factory before its acquisition by the Ursulines. This building, as well as the two remaining pavilions, today bear witness to the turbulent history of the place, between religious, educational and cultural vocations. The current address, 17 rue des Ursulines, corresponds to the historic location of the convent, below St.Gatien Cathedral.

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