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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The National Institute of the Blind Youth (INJA) came into being at the end of the 18th century, when Valentin Haüy, supported by the Philanthropic Society, founded in 1785 a school for the blind on Rue Coquillière in Paris. This pioneering initiative, recognized by Louis XVI in 1786, became the Royal Institution of the Young Blind and settled successively in several places, including the convent of the Celestines. The Revolution transformed the institution into a national institution (1791), and was then attached to the Fifteen-Vingt Hospital under the First Empire (1800-1815).

In 1844, INJA settled permanently at 56 boulevard des Invalides (Paris 7e), in a building designed by architect Pierre Philippon (1839-1844). The chapel, decorated with wall paintings by Henri Lehman, and the facades are classified as historical monuments in 1984. The institute develops adapted teaching, including training in the piano accordor profession, while honouring its founding figures such as Haüy and Louis Braille, whose effigies adorn the entrance.

The INJA embodies a major step forward in the education of the blind, from a charitable approach (as at the Fifteen-Wings Hospital) to a structured pedagogy. Its history reflects political (from monarchy to republic) and social developments, with notable directors such as Alexandre-René Pignier or Pierre-Armand Dufau. Since 2023, her garden Helen Keller, open to the public, symbolizes her anchoring in the city.

The site also houses artistic and memorial traces, such as the André Marchal room, used for filming, or the busts of Braille and Haüy. The institute remains a key player in inclusion, paired with foreign institutions (e.g. New College Worcester) and linked to associations such as the Valentin Haüy Association, founded in 1889 by Maurice de La Sizeranne.

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