Abbaye saint-vincent
1, allée du Cloître, 85240 Nieul-sur-l'Autise
Founded in 1068, made up of Genovesi and then Augustinian canons (1139), the abbey enjoyed the privileges of the Dukes of Aquitaine, the kings of France and then of the Plantagenets and experienced a rapid as well as important development. Partially destroyed during the Wars of Religion, it recovered badly despite the reconstructions of Abbé Brissac in 1630-1640, and it was abandoned in favor of the Chapter of La Rochelle in 1715\. Of this prestigious ensemble still remain: a church of the Poitevin type, which is distinguished by a sober nave, with marked verticality, and a very ornate facade (historical capitals, carved panels); around the well-preserved Romanesque cloister, With semicircular bays supported by columns, one also notices a Romanesque portal with three volts very worked, opening formerly on the refectory, today disappeared. Abbey church, cloister, museography on Romanesque sculpture in the dormitory, musical galleries exhibiting reconstructions of medieval instruments, w
