Salles d'Anchin

As the ideas of the Reformation gained traction, the Jesuits were called upon as the most suitable to lead the Counter-Reformation movement. It was therefore decided to create a college in Douai where theology would be taught in the purest Catholic tradition; alongside philosophy and the humanities. The college of Anchin was inaugurated on 20 October 1568 with the approval of the King of Spain and the University. It became the most renowned in the province. The number of students rose from 200 in 1569 to over 1,000 in 1575. The reputation of the Jesuits' teaching attracted the intellectual elite of Walloon Flanders, Hainaut and Cambrai. Its reputation was such that students had to be turned away. The college was both a boarding and a day school, and comprised four buildings for the students and the Jesuits. In 1583, the first stone was laid for the church of Notre-Dame des Neiges, which was consecrated in 1591. In 1609, Dom Faveau, the new abbot of Anchin, decided to enlarge the college and built what are now known as the Anchin rooms. These vast rooms were used for courses, thesis presentations and theatrical performances. This building, which linked the college to the church, is very large: 53 x 12 metres. With a height of 22 metres. Built of brick and stone, with a steeply pitched roof, it has Gothic windows on both sides, framed and cut with sandstone mullions. The large room on the ground floor is remarkable for its ceiling, the beams of which rest on twenty-one consoles with sculpted figures representing writers, philosophers and allegorical characters. The upstairs room is topped by a wooden barrel ceiling decorated with mascarons. In 1765, the college of Anchin became the Royal College. It was closed during the Revolution in 1793. The large brick building housing the halls of Anchin remains the only evidence of the prestigious college of Anchin. Damaged by bombs on 11 August 1944, after a long restoration, the current building was inaugurated in 1982. It houses four rooms named after figures who contributed to the town’s reputation: Jérôme de France, Jean Faveau, Charles Malapert and Robert de Douai.

Show less