Saint Nicholas Church

Stronghold of the viscounts of Thouars, La Chaize-le-Vicomte developed from the XI^e century around the seigneurial castle and the Saint-Nicolas church.

The Bishop of Poitiers consecrated it in 1099, in the presence of the powerful Duke of Aquitaine, William IX the Troubadour, grandfather of the future Eleanor of Aquitaine. It is also in the church of Saint-Nicolas that the duke decided to go on a crusade for the Holy Land.

An architectural jewel, this imposing Romanesque granite church was, at the time, the largest in Poitou.

It is also a place with a rich and sometimes even surprising history!

Despite the collapse of the apse, the majesty of the Church of St. Nicholas is still manifested in the astonishing elevation of its nave and in the light that falls from its bays. This height and this luminosity are quite exceptional in Romanesque churches. Transition monument between the primitive novel and the classical novel, it was listed as an historic monument in 1908.

Thanks to its exceptional proportions and its vast nave with five bays, the church holds a special place in the Romanesque art of Poitou.

Started in the summer of 2017, work on the Saint-Nicolas church in La Chaize-le-Vicomte has just been completed. Indeed, the building has suffered numerous damage over time. This was particularly the case during the Wars of Religion. The church was pillaged by an armed band of Huguenots and burned, causing part of the building to collapse.

And around the Saint Nicolas church?

Of the viscount castle erected in the Middle Ages, only the western ramparts and three towers remain. Of the priory, only the east wall still stands. We can also visitthe municipal wash house, considered to be one of the best preserved and most interesting in Vendée. Covered with a large tiled roof, it almost looks like a cloister!