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Origin and history

The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption of Puyravault is an ancient foundation of hospitals of Saint John of Jerusalem, dated the 12th century. This monument, the only remaining vestige of the commandory, illustrates the typical architecture of this order: a rectangular vessel without transept, vaulted in a broken cradle, and preserved original pierces. Its soberly decorated western gate and restored façade in the 1960s, surmounted by a built-up campanile, testify to its preserved medieval history.

From the 16th century on, the command office of Puyravault came under the order of Malta. In 1643 she played an active role in the drying of the Poitevin marshes, under the direction of knight François Petit de la Guerche. The church, classified as a Historic Monument in 1991, remains today the property of the municipality. Its austere and functional architecture reflects the hospital and religious vocation of its founders.

The location of the building, in Puyravault in Vendée (Pays de la Loire), is part of a territory marked by hydraulic works and the influence of military-religious orders. The building, still standing after nearly nine centuries, offers a rare example of Romanesque constructions related to commanderies, where architectural simplicity rhymes with community utility. Its state of conservation, despite ad hoc restorations, allows to study medieval construction techniques in this marsh area.

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