Centre Culturel Saint-Ayoul

The Centre Culturel Saint-Ayoul in Provins opened in December 2006 after the conversion of former military garages behind the church of Saint-Ayoul. The project created a main auditorium with retractable seating for 550 spectators and a smaller theatre for 150, together with facilities for music teaching and activities such as dance and fencing. The centre’s programme includes theatre, concerts and other live performances. Its architecture represents the reuse of a military site as a municipal cultural complex. The centre takes its name from the priory of Saint-Ayoul in the lower town of Provins, the Benedictine foundation around which the medieval fair quarter grew. The modern building beside it is the town's principal hall for concerts, touring theatre and opera, and it gives a town of twelve thousand people a stage large enough for a company on the road.