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Origin and history

The Lycée Charlemagne occupies the location of a beguinage founded in 1310 by Saint Louis in the Marais district of Paris. In 1580, Cardinal Charles de Bourbon gave the place to the Jesuits, who built a chapel dedicated to Saint Louis in 1582, and a convent between 1627 and 1647. The latter, known as the "Professe House of the Jesuits", houses influential religious figures such as Fathers La Chaise (confessor of Louis XIV) and Bourdaloue, as well as Father Coton, confessor of Henry IV and Louis XIII. The ensemble became a major intellectual and spiritual centre, hosting a public library from 1773.

Between 1762 and 1767, the convent was abandoned after the expulsion of the Jesuits, then bought by the Genovéfains du Val-des-Écoliers, who made it the Royal Priory of Saint-Louis de la Couture. The Revolution transformed the place into a depot and then a central school in 1797, before it was converted into an imperial high school in 1804 as the Charlemagne high school. The current porch, inspired by a 17th-century plan, dates from modern renovations completed in 1993, while the church of Saint-Louis-des-Jésuites (1627), where Bossuet and Flecheier preached, retains its Baroque heritage.

The early chapel saw the baptism of Madame de Sévigné in 1626. In the 19th century, the high school extended and incorporated preparatory classes, becoming a symbol of educational excellence. Touched by a bombardment in 1918, he remains today one of the most prestigious high schools in France, classified Monument Historique in 1988 for his staircase, his painted library and the apartment of Father La Chaise. Its history reflects the political, religious and educational changes in the capital.

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