Ancien couvent des Ursulines

Ancien couvent des Ursulines is a former Ursuline convent in Dinan, in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany, France. Built in the first half of the seventeenth century, the complex is known today chiefly for its surviving chapel and the remaining wings of the old cloister, later converted into housing.

Where is the former Ursuline convent located?

The building stands in the historic center of Dinan, at the junction of Rue de la Boulangerie and Rue Saint-Charles, close to the Church of Saint-Malo. Its position places it among the town's cluster of historic religious buildings.

When was the convent founded?

The story begins in 1615, when the bishop of Saint-Malo granted permission for the Ursulines to settle in Dinan. Three nuns arrived from Saint-Malo in 1618 and initially lived in a house near the Saint-Nicolas chapel. The foundation stone of the convent proper was not laid until 1620. The finished complex took the form of a quadrangle with three wings - north, west and south - closed off on the east side by a wall, forming the nuns' cloister. The chapel followed in 1638, built by the same master builder who had earlier worked on the Dominican convent in Dinan.

What happened to the convent during and after the Revolution?

In 1792, at the height of the Revolution, the thirty-four nuns then living there were expelled. For a few years afterward the chapel served as a venue for revolutionary meetings and assemblies. The buildings were sold off as national property in 1798, and in 1802 a new owner, Toussaint-Dutertre, set up a sailcloth weaving works inside the former convent. The factory operated for sixty years before going bankrupt in 1862. Around the same period, Rue Saint-Charles was cut through the site, splitting the old cloister into two separate groups of buildings, one to the north and one to the south.

What survives today?

Only three elements of the original convent remain: the chapel, the south wing, and part of the west wing of the cloister. Both wings underwent a thorough restoration in 1990 and were converted into social housing, now known as the Résidence des Ursulines. The chapel has been listed as a monument historique since 1987, a recognition of its architectural and historical value.

Can visitors go inside?

Because the surviving wings now function as private housing, the site is not set up as a conventional visitor attraction - there is no museum or permanent exhibition here. Still, the chapel's façade and the layout of the remaining buildings are worth a look for anyone walking through Dinan's old town, as visible traces of the site's seventeenth-century origins.

Frequently asked questions

When was the Ursuline convent in Dinan founded? Permission to settle was granted in 1615, the nuns arrived in 1618, and the convent's foundation stone was laid in 1620.

Does the convent still serve a religious purpose? No. After the nuns were expelled in 1792, the buildings changed use several times, including a spell as a sailcloth factory, and have functioned as housing since 1990.

What exactly has survived from the original convent? The 1638 chapel, the south wing, and part of the west wing of the old cloister.

Is the building protected as a historic monument? Yes, the chapel has been listed as a monument historique since 1987.