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All French heritage classified by regions, departments and cities

  2. Divers
  3. Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
  4. Rhône
  5. 69400 Villefranche-sur-Saône

  6. Mongré College

Mongré College à Villefranche-sur-Saône dans le Rhône

Rhône

Mongré College

    276 Avenue Saint-Exupéry
    69400 Villefranche-sur-Saône
Collège Mongré
Collège Mongré
Collège Mongré
Collège Mongré
Collège Mongré
Collège Mongré
Collège Mongré
Crédit photo : Chabe01 - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1800
1900
2000
14 août 1842
Estate legacy
1851
Opening of the College
1865
Completion of the chapel
1913
Purchase by former students
1951
Transition to Assumptionists
2019
Partial classification
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

All the facades and roofs of the buildings of the Collège de Mongré limited to the perimeter of the plan (excluded, therefore, modern amenities and technical vernacular buildings not designed by H. Bresson), its courtyards with its statues, its traffic spaces (galeries, corridors, halls, service stairs), its two chapels in total, the central building between the two courtyards in total, the archive room or library, the laundry under the attic; all located 276 avenue Saint-Exupéry (cad. AK 326): registration by order of 23 January 2019

Key figures

Mlle Bottu de La Barmondière - Donor Legitimate the estate in 1842.
Aristide Cavaillé-Coll - Organ factor Designs the organ of the chapel.
H. Bresson - Architect Designs the main buildings.
Vincent Coiffet - Founder of the Little Singer Created the choir in 1998.

Origin and history

Mongré College, founded in 1851 in Villefranche-sur-Saône, has its origin in the legacy of the Mongré estate by Miss Bottu de La Barmondière to Jesuit fathers in 1842. The establishment was designed to educate teenagers and opened its doors in the Old Castle (now demolished), designed by architect M. Bresson between 1851 and 1853. The large chapel, completed in 1865, houses an organ of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll installed in 1869. The school, then called college of Mongré, became one of the main Jesuit colleges of France until 1951, marking its history with periods of military occupation (1870-1871, 1914-1918) and adaptations to school laws (Decrees Jules Ferry, Debré law).

Between 1851 and 1951, Mongré was led by the Jesuits, before passing under the tutelage of the Assumptionist Fathers (1951-1975), then of a lay teaching corps from 1975, while maintaining a pedagogy inspired by Saint Ignatius of Loyola. The establishment experienced major upheavals: seizure of the estate in 1911, acquisition by former students in 1913, and successive transformations (mixed in 1962, demolition of the Old Castle in 1964). In 1914-1918 he housed a medical hospital of 2,437 wounded, and during World War II he housed refugees, German soldiers, and then FFIs at the Liberation.

The 20th century saw Mongré evolve towards a modern high school, with a general mix in 1968 and a steady increase in its enrolment (2,000 students in 2015). In 2019, part of its buildings, including chapels and facades designed by H. Bresson, are listed as historical monuments. The establishment is also distinguished by its choir, Les Petits Chanteurs de Mongré (created in 1998), and its Jesuit heritage, focused on academic excellence and personal development. A commemorative plaque in the atrium pays tribute to the 175 former students who died during the First World War.

The architecture of Mongré, marked by its two chapels and its courtyards decorated with statues, reflects its religious and educational history. The site, located at 276 avenue Saint-Exupéry, remains a symbol of the Catholic school heritage in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, combining tradition and adaptation to contemporary challenges. Its ranking in 2019 highlights the historic value of this place, witness to the changes in private education in France since the 19th century.

External links

Page Wikipedia
Page Monumentum