Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Petite Mission de Bergerac came into being in 1672, when the mission of Périgueux annexed the incomes of the church of Saint James and the priory of Saint Martin. These resources enabled ten years later to establish an institution dedicated to the education of children destined for the priesthood. This place, which became the Petit Séminaire, functioned until 1838, forming generations of clerics in an architectural setting organized around an inner courtyard extending the church.

The buildings, built of flat bricks with cut stone links, are built around a central courtyard. The north façade of the southern building retains pillars forming a gallery, while the presbytery is located north of the courtyard. The south-east facade, adapted to the elevation of the land, has three levels. These architectural elements reflect a spatial organization conceived for teaching and community life, typical of the seminars of the Old Regime.

Ranked a Historic Monument in 1984 for its facades and roofs, the site was originally conceived as a place of ecclesiastical formation. After its closure in 1838, the buildings, owned by the commune, still bear witness to this educational and religious vocation. Their layout around the church of Saint-Jacques, at 1-3 rue Saint-Jacques, makes it a heritage complex marked by nearly two centuries of local and religious history.

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