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Origin and history

The convent of the Cordeliers de Castres, founded in the 13th century by the Franciscan order, was originally built outside the city walls between 1229 and 1236. The insecurity caused by the military conflicts of 1355 prompted the monks to move him inside the urban enclosure in 1369, after the fortifications were enlarged around 1373-1380. The site then became a strategic place, integrated with the defence of Castres, a high Protestant place during the Wars of Religion.

The convent suffered heavy destruction in 1563 and 1567 by the Protestants, leaving only its bell tower, claimed by the Cordeliers to install a clock there. An agreement with the city consuls allowed its continuation, provided that it shared access for the interview. Reconstituent in 1632, the convent was completed by a college in the 18th century (1750). The church, destroyed, was entirely rebuilt in the 19th century, while the bell tower, the only medieval vestige, was classified as a historical monument in 1973.

Today, the Tower of the Cordeliers and the Chapel, integrated into the Collège Jean-Jaurès, are the last testimonies of this past. Archaeological excavations revealed in 2023 remains of the convent cemetery north of the site. The tower, owned by the commune, symbolizes the religious and urban transformations of Castres, marked by conflicts between Catholics and Protestants.

The site also illustrates the architectural evolution of Franciscan convents in Occitanie, moving from an isolated medieval building to an integrated urban complex. The Cordeliers, who arrived in Castres in 1227, played a key role in the spiritual and educational life of the city, as evidenced by the founding of the college in the 18th century. The tower, with its clock, became a civic and religious landmark, reflecting the adaptation of begging orders to local needs.

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