Another year the prefecture of Seine-et-Marne will welcome visitors wishing to participate in the European Heritage Days. The doors will open to let you visit the prefectural hotel and the gardens of the prefecture on Saturday from 14h00 to 17h00 and on Sunday from 10h30 to 12h30.
The prefecture of Seine-et-Marne was established in the 19th century in the former site of the Saint-Père abbey. The abbey, which is believed to be the oldest monastic settlement in Melun, had a very important influence on the history and development of the city.
The prefecture and the hotel of the department, redeveloped in 1999, occupy the site of the former Benedictine abbey Saint-Père, the foundation of which would date back to the seventh century. Cited in a charter from 991, the abbey will be destroyed many times during its history. The Benedictines of Saint-Maur settled there in 1654, raised the establishment, reformed it, and rebuilt the church between 1665 and 1685. During the Revolution, some religious still teach at the abbey. From 1801, the department installed there the offices of the prefecture and the residence of the prefect embellished with French gardens. The remains of the abbey church, the press, the dovecote, and the sheepfold were destroyed in 1806. Reconstruction was completed in 1874.