Sorèze Abbey School: from Royal Military School to the Cité de Sorèze

Benedictine abbey, Royal Military School, Lacordaire's college, today the Cité de Sorèze and Dom Robert museum: a visit to the place where the Caffarelli brothers were educated.

Sorèze is a village in the Tarn, set at the foot of the Montagne Noire on the edge of the Lauragais, close to Revel and about an hour from Toulouse in south-west France. At its heart stands a former Benedictine abbey that, over the centuries, became one of the most renowned colleges in Europe: a Royal Military School under Louis XVI, a school led by Father Lacordaire in the 19th century, then a lycée until 1991. Today the Cité de Sorèze opens the abbey school, its salle des Illustres (Hall of Illustrious Men) and the Dom Robert museum to visitors. For us at the Château du Falga, it is far more than an outing: this is where the Caffarelli brothers were educated, between 1765 and 1783.

Where does the abbey of Sorèze come from?

According to tradition, the Benedictine abbey was founded in 754, under Pepin the Short, at the foot of the Montagne Noire. The monks settled on marshy ground which they patiently drained; the abbey was named Notre-Dame de la Sagne, "sagne" being the Occitan word for a wet place. Little by little a village grew up around the monastery, recorded in written sources in the early 11th century. Until then, people in the area had lived higher up, on the oppidum of Berniquaut, a rocky spur occupied since prehistoric times.

The abbey's history was anything but peaceful. Ravaged several times, it was destroyed during the Wars of Religion, when Protestant troops seized the village on 5 June 1573. Only in the 17th century did the Benedictines of the Congregation of Saint-Maur, who came from Paris, undertake its reconstruction.

How did the abbey become a school?

In 1682 the monks opened a seminary for young gentlemen. The stakes were also religious: the aim was to compete with the nearby Protestant Academy of Puylaurens. After the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, the establishment took in, among others, the sons of the impoverished minor nobility.

The turning point came from 1759 with Dom Victor de Fougeras. He devised a remarkably modern approach to teaching: some fifteen subjects, tuition adapted to each pupil's abilities and plans, and an unprecedented place for science, modern languages, drawing, music and physical exercise. Pupils learned physics as well as riding, geography as well as fencing.

In 1776 Louis XVI recognised this success: Sorèze became one of the twelve Royal Military Schools of the kingdom. Future infantry, cavalry and naval officers were trained here, and the school's reputation drew pupils from all over Europe and overseas.

The Caffarelli brothers, pupils at Sorèze

This was the very school Pierre-François Caffarelli chose for his sons. Lord of Le Falga and father of twelve children, he had no fortune to leave them: their future would depend on the excellence of their education. Maximilien entered Sorèze in 1765; his brothers followed him, and the family sent children there until 1783.

The result probably exceeded his hopes. Maximilien (1756-1799) became a general of engineers and a member of the Institut d'Égypte; Joseph, known as de Merville (1760-1845), maritime prefect of Brest; Jean-Baptiste (1763-1815), bishop of Saint-Brieuc; Auguste (1766-1849), aide-de-camp to Napoleon. We tell their stories in six destinies for one family and in our portrait of Maximilien Caffarelli du Falga.

The Revolution, Ferlus and Lacordaire's 19th century

The Revolution abolished the royal schools. The abbey school could have disappeared; it was saved by François Ferlus, a former Benedictine, who bought the buildings and became its director. The school became a private establishment and carried on.

In the mid-19th century Sorèze welcomed a leading figure. Henri-Dominique Lacordaire (1802-1861), the preacher of the Notre-Dame de Paris conferences and restorer of the Dominican order in France, took charge of the school in 1854. He also withdrew there in part from political life, after opposing Napoleon III. Under his leadership the school regained considerable prestige, with up to 400 pupils. Elected to the Académie française in 1860, he died at Sorèze on 21 November 1861.

Lacordaire also left his mark on the village. Seeing that Sorèze had had no parish church since the Wars of Religion, he gave part of the school's park, building materials and 22,000 francs to build a new one: the church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix, built in the 1860s. His tomb was transferred there in 1992. The church also holds the 18th-century organ from the former abbey church, listed as a historic monument.

The school then went through the 20th century, became co-educational in 1978 and closed its doors in 1991, as the buildings had become too costly to maintain and bring up to standard. Over its history it is said to have educated some 23,000 pupils.

What can you see today at the Cité de Sorèze?

The whole complex, listed as a historic monument in 1988 together with its park, statues and courtyard surfaces, is now run by a joint authority bringing together the Occitanie Region, the Tarn department and the town of Sorèze. Labelled Grand Site Occitanie and Maison des Illustres, it can be visited as the Cité de Sorèze. Part of the buildings also houses a hotel.

Here is what not to miss:

• The salle des Illustres, often called the school's "pantheon". Some fifty busts of former pupils and teachers who became famous are lined up here, among them those of the Caffarelli brothers and the composer Déodat de Séverac. This is where pupils' results were read out publicly every week.
• The Cour des Rouges, a reminder of the Soréziens' uniforms, whose colour changed according to the pupils' level of study.
• Pupils' daily life, with the spartan bedrooms, a tiered classroom and the director's study, where you can see Lacordaire's private altar.
• The park of about six hectares, a former marsh laid out with ponds; the monks' old fishpond, turned into a swimming pool, is presented as the oldest school swimming pool in Europe.
• The Dom Robert and 20th-century tapestry museum, housed in a restored wing.

Why is the Dom Robert museum worth the trip?

Opened in spring 2015, the museum occupies 1,500 m² in a wing of the abbey school, renovated by the architect Susanna Ferrini. It is devoted to Dom Robert (1907-1997), born Guy de Chaunac-Lanzac, a Benedictine monk of the abbey of En Calcat at Dourgne, on the other side of the Montagne Noire.

A painter and cartoon designer, Dom Robert drew the models for tapestries woven at Aubusson, notably by Suzanne Goubely's workshop. His works, dazzlingly fresh, celebrate the nature he saw around him: flowering meadows, sheep, horses, birds, in the spirit of medieval millefleurs. The museum sets them alongside other artists of the 20th-century tapestry revival, such as Jean Lurçat, Marcel Gromaire, Mario Prassinos and Michel Tourlière, and explains step by step how a tapestry is made, from drawing to cartoon to loom. The displays change regularly, which gives a good reason to come back.

Strolling through the village: the Saint-Martin bell tower and half-timbered houses

It would be a pity to leave Sorèze without exploring its lanes. The village has kept handsome half-timbered houses, many of whose overhanging upper floors date from the 16th and 17th centuries. On some façades, a sharp eye will spot carved fragments from destroyed religious buildings, reused in the walls.

Above the rooftops rises the Saint-Martin bell tower, about 35 metres high. It is the only remnant of the former parish church, destroyed in 1573; it was kept to serve as a watchtower. Its Flamboyant Gothic choir has left a few carved capitals, and the bell tower is among the first monuments in the commune to have been protected as a historic monument.

Which walks lead to the Montagne Noire and Berniquaut?

Sorèze backs onto the Montagne Noire, and footpaths start almost from the village. The finest destination is the oppidum of Berniquaut, which rises to nearly 570 metres. Occupied since prehistoric times, it served as a refuge until the 13th century, before the population moved down to settle in the plain. Excavations have uncovered traces of prehistoric, ancient and medieval dwellings.

Several waymarked loops lead there, from a few hours to a good day's walk. The longest pass the ruins of the chapel of Saint-Jammes, near a centuries-old beech tree, and open up wide views over the Sorèze plain, the Sor and Durfort valleys and, in the distance, the Saint-Ferréol reservoir. Wear good shoes: some sections are steep and slippery after rain, and the ridges are exposed to the wind. The Aux Sources du Canal du Midi tourist office provides route sheets.

To round off the day, Lake Saint-Ferréol and the Vauban vault at Les Cammazes are close by, as is the bastide town of Revel and its market.

Frequently asked questions

When was the abbey school of Sorèze founded?
According to tradition, the Benedictine abbey was founded in 754, under Pepin the Short. The school was born in 1682 and became a Royal Military School in 1776, under Louis XVI.

What is the link between Sorèze and the Caffarelli brothers?
The sons of Pierre-François Caffarelli, lord of Le Falga, studied there between 1765 and 1783. Their busts stand in the salle des Illustres of the abbey school.

Where is Father Lacordaire buried?
Lacordaire died at Sorèze on 21 November 1861 and rests in the church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix, which he helped to build; his tomb was transferred there in 1992.

How much time should you allow to visit Sorèze?
Allow half a day for the abbey school, the salle des Illustres and the Dom Robert museum, and more if you add a stroll through the village or a hike up to Berniquaut.

Staying at the Château du Falga to discover Sorèze

From the Château du Falga, Sorèze is a short half-hour drive away, via Revel. It is one of the excursions we most gladly recommend to our guests: seeing the salle des Illustres helps you understand the house where the Caffarelli brothers grew up. Large groups stay at the château, while couples and small families settle comfortably into the Petite Maison. To learn more about the family, read the history of the château, or write to us to plan your stay.

Sources: Cité de Sorèze (official website); Aux Sources du Canal du Midi tourist office; Mérimée database (French Ministry of Culture), entry on the abbey school; Occitanie regional tourism board; Musées d'Occitanie; Wikipedia (FR), article "Musée Dom Robert et de la tapisserie du XXe siècle"; Encyclopædia Britannica, entry "Henri Lacordaire"; Visorando; notices of the salle des Illustres.