Bibliothèque des Annonciades - Boulogne-sur-mer

The former convent of the Annonciades, located near the Porte des Dunes on the site of an old inn, is one of the last remaining examples of religious institutions in Boulogne under the Ancien Régime.

After a turbulent history, this complex has been completely restored and since 1975 has housed the Bibliothèque municipale des Annonciades, which houses the heritage collections of the Quadrant, the library network of Boulogne-sur-Mer.

This monastery has its origins in the Sainte-Catherine hospice, which was founded by the city at the beginning of the 13th century . At the end of the 16th century, the Franciscan nuns who had lived there since 1468 expressed their desire to establish their own monastery. In 1636, they joined the contemplative order of the Annunciation, founded by Jeanne de France, wife of Louis XII. The monastery gained a large following in the city of the Virgin of Nautonière: in the middle of the 17th century, it had around fifty nuns. Its prosperity was accompanied by the partial reconstruction of the monastery. The chapel was only built in 1779 by the Boulonnais architect Giraux Sannier (1721-1804).

Willem Vandenameele