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Origin and history

The priory of the Benedictines of Vinetz, mentioned since 1101, was originally located in the territory of Saint-Martin-sur-le-Pré, near Châlons-en-Champagne. Founded as a Benedictine convent, it depended first on the Abbey of Juilly, then on the Abbey of Molesmes. His history was marked by war-related vicissitudes, including the ravages of British troops during the Hundred Years' War and his destruction in 1544 by the army of Charles Quint, who only spared the chapel. The nuns, forced by several abandonments, finally left the site in 1622 to settle in Châlons, in the former convent of the Recollets, rue de Vinetz.

In the 17th century, under the impulse of the prioress Marie Larcher de Chamond, the priory was completely rebuilt between 1688 and 1698. The chapel, blessed in 1693, and the convent buildings were built in stone of Savonnières, with sculptures made by Sieur Augé from 1699. The site, which was abolished in 1789, then became a military ambulance and then a food depot until 1974. Today, it houses departmental services, including archives and a business restaurant, while the chapel hosts temporary exhibitions.

The Priory of Vinetz illustrates the transformation of religious establishments in France, moving from a monastic place of life to an administrative and cultural space. Its architecture, marked by chalk facades and slate roofs, reflects 17th century styles. The plaque dated 1698 on the lintel of the door rue de Vinetz and the sculptures of Augé recall his Benedictine heritage. The site, classified Historical Monument in 1978 for its facades and roofs, remains a testimony of the religious and civil history of Châlons-en-Champagne.

Originally, the priory was located on the edge of the old Marne bed, in a hamlet with up to 80 inhabitants in the seventeenth century. Close to the path of the Nonnain (disappeared in 1955), it was surrounded by farms and depended on the episcopal estate of Châlons. Its decline was accelerated by conflicts, including the destructions of 1544, which left only the chapel standing. It was a place of processions until the Revolution and was finally demolished in 1813. The site also experienced a scandal in 1906, linked to food hijackings in its walls, then used as military handling.

Today, the former convent, owned by the Marne department, consists of four buildings organised around a courtyard. The chapel, with its elongated and covered plan, retains an open gable facade. The building on street, adorned with a modillon cornice and a wooden porch, has a 1698 plaque. The wings now house the departmental archives and the solidarity service, while the neighbouring esplanade, the place of the Forum of Europe, symbolizes its contemporary anchor.

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