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Origin and history

The Convent of the Jacobins of Saint-Sever is a former Dominican convent founded in 1280 thanks to the support of Eléonore de Castille, wife of Edward I, king-duke of England, during the period of English domination in Aquitaine. This monument illustrates the influence of Dominicans, nicknamed Jacobins in France after their installation in Paris in 1218. The site combines Gothic elements, such as the capitular hall and 13th century refectory, with restorations in the Languedoc Romanesque style, including the 17th century pink brick cloister.

During the Wars of Religion in 1569, the Huguenot troops of Montgomery partially damaged the convent. It was restored in the seventeenth century under the impulse of Father Antonin Cloche, a severine saint who became master general of the Dominican order in 1686. The work then concerns the cloister and the south and west wings, mixing pink bricks and stones. An additional renovation was carried out in 1867 by the departmental architect Alexandre Ozanne.

After the French Revolution, the convent changed its assignment several times: school, college, fire station, or fat market. Since the 1970s, it has hosted cultural events and is home to the Museum of Art and History of Cap de Gascogne, retracing the history of Saint-Sever, the former capital of Gascogne. The church, with a single nave and flat bedside, as well as the cloister, have been classified as historical monuments since 1971.

Today, the site remains a living place for the city, hosting annual exhibitions such as Varietas Florum in April or a craft exhibition in August. The capitular hall, adorned with a fresco of 1335 depicting Saint Dominique, and the refectory, with its medieval remains, bear witness to its rich religious and architectural past.

The convent also symbolizes the political and social transformations of the region, moving from a Dominican place of worship to a versatile space, reflecting the changing needs of the Saint-Severine community throughout the centuries.

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