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Origin and history

The Saint-Nicolas Abbey of Blasimon, located in the village of Blasimon in Gironde, is a former Catholic abbey founded in the Middle Ages. His existence was attested as early as 980, when the abbot of Blasimon gave a vineyard alleu to the monastery of La Réole. The abbey, dedicated to St.Mauritius, is probably built between the 11th and 13th centuries, with remains of 11th century rubble. The façade and the first span were redone around 1150, while the Gothic vaults and interior supports were added in the 13th century. The abbey, surrounded by a fortified enclosure and ditches fed by the Gamage, suffered major damage in 1587 during a siege by the Huguenots during the Wars of Religion, forcing the monks to take refuge in the priory of Sauveterre until 1622.

In the 17th century, the abbey was partially dismantled from 1778, leaving only the eastern wing of the cloister, built in the 12th century. The ditches, neglected, transformed the surroundings into marshes until they were filled in 1855 by parish priest Monmaton. The church, which became parish under the name of Saint-Nicolas, was classified as a historical monument in 1875 for its exceptional Romanesque portal, inspired by the Poitevin school. This portal, adorned with six carved voussures, illustrates moral themes such as the struggle between Vertus and Vices, hunting scenes, and allegorical figures. Capitals, modillons and ravens carry symbolic representations, often linked to capital sins, such as lust or vanity.

The restorations of the 19th and 20th centuries, particularly in 1848-1849 and 1961, partially altered the original sculptures, some of which were replaced or redone. Despite these interventions, the portal remains one of the most remarkable of Gironde, with artistic influences comparable to those of the churches Saint-Pierre d'Aulnay or Notre-Dame-la-Grande de Poitiers. Conventual buildings, in ruins, and the vestiges of the enclosure (Saint Nicholas Tower, filled ditches) testify to the strategic and religious importance of the site. Today, the ancient abbey, classified with its furniture, is a major testimony of Romanesque and Gothic architecture in New Aquitaine.

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