Location: 229 Rue Saint-Honoré
English translation
"In 1587, Henri III settled reformed Cistercians in Paris from the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Feuillants in Languedoc, and commissioned Baptiste Androuet du Cerceau to build their convent. The church was consecrated in 1608 and its façade completed in 1624 by François Mansart. The monumental entrance, designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart and completed in 1676, was located on the north-south axis of Place Vendôme, and the garden designed by Le Nôtre extended as far as the Tuileries Manège (rue de Rivoli). In 1790, the Club des Feuillants moved into the church. Its members dispersed after August 10, 1792, and the church became a refreshment stand for deputies of the various assemblies sitting at the Manège, until the buildings were demolished in 1804." (Translated by DeepL and ChatGPT)
Background notes
- The Feuillants were reformed Cistercians who adopted a stricter observance of Cistercian (Roman Catholic monastic) rule, which emphasised simplicity, poverty, and a return to earlier Cistercian practices.
- Henri III's (1551-1589) decision to establish a community of reformed Cistercians in Paris reflected his support for the Catholic Reformation and his desire to strengthen Catholicism in France at a time when the country was embroiled in the Wars of Religion between Catholics and Huguenots (French Protestants).
- François Mansart (1598-1666) was a pioneer of French Classical Baroque architecture. Although not contemporaries, Jules Hardouin-Mansart was François Mansart’s great-nephew, who became one of the most prominent architects of Louis XIV's reign.
- André Le Nôtre (1613–1700) was a highly influential French landscape architect renowned for his mastery of garden design and for shaping the formal French garden style. Perhaps his most famous work, Le Nôtre transformed the grounds of the Palace of Versailles into one of the most iconic and grandiose gardens in history.
- In 1790, the Couvent des Feuillants was secularised and nationalised and then taken over by the Club des Feuillants (officially known as the Society of the Friends of the Constitution), a political group advocating a constitutional monarchy. The church and convent became a venue for political meetings and debates among moderate revolutionaries. The Club des Feuillants consisted of moderate deputies who left the Jacobin Club and opposed the radicalisation of the Revolution.
- The storming of the Tuileries Palace on August 10, 1792, and the subsequent overthrow of the monarchy led directly to the dispersal and dissolution of the Club des Feuillants. As the revolution became more radical and the monarchy fell, the Feuillants—who had supported a constitutional monarchy—found themselves politically isolated and increasingly at odds with the rising Jacobins and the push for a republic.
- After the Club des Feuillants dissolved, the former convent was used as a "buvette" (refreshment stand) for the deputies and members of the revolutionary assemblies that were sitting at the nearby Manège des Tuileries.
- The Tuileries Manège was originally a royal riding school for the court built around 1720 near the Tuileries Palace in Paris. From 1789 to 1793, the Manège was the meeting place for various revolutionary assemblies, including the National Constituent Assembly and later the Legislative Assembly. These revolutionary bodies worked on drafting France’s new constitution and making legislative decisions during the early years of the Revolution. Its proximity to the Tuileries Palace made it a convenient location for political gatherings.
- While the Couvent des Feuillants and the Manège des Tuileries were demolished in 1804, a few years after the revolutionary assemblies ceased meeting, their historical significance remains embedded in the broader narrative of revolutionary Paris, with echoes still felt around Place Vendôme and the Tuileries Gardens