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Origin and history

The seminary of Autun, located in the city of the same name in Saône-et-Loire, was founded in 1675 by Bishop Gabriel de Roquette. Designed by architect Daniel Gittard and completed in 1679, it is considered one of the most beautiful seminars in France in his time. The gardens, originally designed by André Le Nôtre, have been profoundly redesigned. The building used stones from the ancient Roman theatre in Autun, thereby reducing costs.

At the French Revolution in 1789, the seminary lost its religious vocation and successively became a gallstone hospital, a grain store and a prison for Austrian and Spanish soldiers. The premises, looted, undergo major transformations. In 1809 Anne Marie Javouhey set up a school for poor children, before the building became a small seminary again in 1813, welcoming Patrice de Mac-Mahon, the future president of the Republic.

In 1885, the seminary was transformed into a Military Preparatory Cavalry School, marking the beginning of a new educational and military era. Students, often sons of military, are trained for military careers. During World War I, 154 of them died in combat. The school then evolved into a college and then a military high school, while retaining its architectural heritage, such as the 17th century cloister and a statue of the Virgin Mary dating back to 1861.

The site now houses the Autun military high school, which has maintained an educational and military tradition for more than two centuries. The cloister, classified as a historical monument in 1932 for its facades, roofs and stairs, remains a testament to its past. A national museum of Troop Children, housed in the old chapel, traces this rich history, marked by figures like Bernard Gangloff, resistant dead for France in 1944.

Among the notable architectural elements are a Burgundian roof decorated with green and yellow tiles forming the initials "GS" (Grand Séminaire), as well as a monument to the dead inaugurated in 1955. The secondary school, which is run by the Ministry of the Armed Forces, welcomes students from the sixth to the preparatory classes, perpetuating a religious, educational and military heritage.

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