I come to my nice Rennes. This time one of the nicest monument , and of course the City is in Îlle et Vilaine dept 35,of my lovely Bretagne, I have come back to this beautiful City after a long hiatus and it was wonderful, Bear with me as the next posts will be on this beautiful City, Let me tell you a bit more on the former Jacobin convent of Rennes, part II !! Hope you enjoy it as I.
The Jacobins convent, also named old convent of Bonne-Nouvelle , is an old religious building and an old barracks, located in Rue Saint Malo and Place Sainte Anne. It includes an abbey, a cloister and conventual buildings. It is exactly on Place Sainte-Anne, along the rue d’échange and Rue Saint-Malo . The latter separates the Jacobins convent from the Basilica of Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle (see post). The new Convention Center of Rennes Métropole is composed of a large François Regis Hutin auditorium, with 1000 seats; an auditorium with 500 seats; a 300-seat auditorium in the old church area ; 25 committee rooms; and 3,000 m2 of exhibition or restoration space, specially around the cloister. In the process the Convent is save! It is also, the new tourist office of Rennes!
A wonderful building and architecture/history to boot in a verynice area of Rennes to visit, Here is more of the history I like translated from official tourist office,
In Antiquity, long before the construction of the Jacobins Convent, the district of the ancient city of Condate was already dynamic. During preventive excavations, inrap archaeologists uncovered Gallo-Roman vestiges attesting in particular to the presence of a temple in the 3rd century AD, located in the current northern courtyard of the convent. Undoubtedly dedicated to Mercury, the god of trade, travelers and crossroads which had its place in this very busy district, rich in craft and commercial activities. The foundation stone of the church of the convent was laid on February 2, 1369 in the presence of the Duke of Brittany. It bears the name of the Jacobins, of the preachers also called Dominicans. The originality of this new order, created in 1215, is due in particular to its establishment in the heart of cities. The construction of the convent marks above all the end of the war of succession in Brittany. The date of November 17, 1491 is often mentioned as that of the engagement of Anne of Brittany and Charles VIII, celebrated in the chapel of the Jacobins. In reality, it is the signing of a peace treaty between the Duchess of Brittany and the King of France which puts an end to the siege of Rennes. Their marriage will actually be celebrated almost a month later in Langeais. Their union seals the beginning of the long process of attaching Brittany to France. The union of the two crowns will be formalized with the treaties of 1532 with Anne’s daughter Claude.
Miracles are attributed to a painting from the end of the 15C, an oil on the wood of the Virgin de Bonne Nouvelle to which is dedicated to the church of the convent. Following a first miracle in 1593, the table was the subject of intense devotion and attracted pilgrims from far away. From the 16C, the convent became an important place of pilgrimage. Rich families are buried as close as possible to this painting. Boutiques are brought to the convent in the rue de Saint-Malo. These different sources of income allow the convent to enlarge its buildings until the 17C. The convent also becomes a renowned study center which arouses many vocations. The religious teach philosophy and theology there by relying on the fund of nearly 5,000 printed books from the Convent Library. An exceptional heritage, which is partly preserved at the Rennes Métropole library in the Champs Libres location. With the French revolution, the convent is one of the religious goods seized and dismantled to be sold as national well. But the convent does not find a buyer. It was assigned and transformed into military stores by the army, which already housed soldiers there in the 1780s. In the 19-20C the convent still experienced changes such as the surroundings of the convent are thus modified and a police station was even built on the old Placis du convent in 1926. In May 2002, the army sold the convent in Rennes Metropolis for a symbolic euro. In 2008 and 2010, the place hosts the Contemporary Art Biennale – Les Ateliers de Rennes , After open doors in December 2017, Le Couvent des Jacobins opened its doors in January 2018 to host its first professional events by a concert given by the Symphonic Orchestra of Brittany. In total, 16,000 square meters are dedicated to the reception of the delegates in a place which combines a modern architecture attach to the historic monument.
The official Convention Center of Rennes : https://www.centre-congres-rennes.fr/en/
The City of Rennes on the Convention Center : https://metropole.rennes.fr/organisme/le-couvent-des-jacobins-centre-des-congres-de-rennes-metropole-5434
The Rennes tourist office on the Convention Center : https://www.tourisme-rennes.com/fr/decouvrir-rennes/actualites/couvent-dates-cles/
There you go folks ,another jewel in my wonderful capital city of Rennes. The walks are worth it with plenty of lovely areas, Again, hope you enjoy the post on the former Jacobin convent of Rennes, part II !! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 