ROYAL ABBEY OF SAINT-MICHEL-EN-L'HERM
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Abbey full of history founded around 682, probably the oldest in the Marais Poitevin, with a superb chapter house.
The abbey of Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm is probably the oldest abbey in the Marais Poitevin, since it was founded on the initiative of Ansoald, bishop of Poitiers, around 682, who asked 13 Benedictine monks from the abbey of Hério (Noirmoutier) to go and settle in the Gulf of the Pictons, on the limestone islet of Condate (Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm). It was declared a royal abbey by François I in 1516 following the Concordat of Bologna. It has been classified as a historical monument since 1973. This abbey, whose last commendatory abbot was Mazarin, is interesting for the square chapter house which was found in the 20th century. It offers a considerable volume and its facade is decorated with capitals with beautiful sculptures. In the centre stands the tomb of Abbot Aszo, who died in 1048. The boiler room, the ruins of which were reassembled in the 19th century, is an open-air room of rather enigmatic appearance. It is undoubtedly at the centre of the creation of the Marais Poitevin, because closely linked to the draining of the marsh, this abbey has a rich and eventful history, its successive constructions and destructions have created an embankment of 10 m above the primitive ground, as if to better protect Savary de Mauléon who rests in the heart of the former abbey church. Also worth seeing is the vast refectory, which is buried under the earthwork done in the 17th century. The abbey still has some conventual buildings: the Logis de l'Aiguier and its 18th century dovecote.
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