Boulogne-sur-Mer - Library

In Roman times Bononia (now "Boulogne-sur-Mer") was the major Roman port for trade and communication with Britain. Caesar's invasions of Britain started right here.

From the 9th century on Boulogne was the capital of the "County of Boulogne". Godfrey of Bouillon and Baldwin I of Jerusalem, prominent figures in the First Crusade, were both Counts of Boulogne.

The old town, located of a hill, is surrounded by ramparts since the 13th century.

The origins of the building, now housing the library, go back to the 13th century, when this was the Hospice of St. Catherine, that was open for the pilgrims. In 1628 a Convent of the Annonciades, an order founded in 1501 by Joan de Valois (aka "Joan of France"), briefly the wife of King Louis XII of France.