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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Abbey of Saint-Maixent-l'École found its origins in the fifth century, when the monk Agapit founded a community under the name of Saint-Saturnin. In 480, the young monk Maixent (formerly Adjutor) took the direction and established a monastery there, which became an abbey around 500 after welcoming Clovis. Maixent died in 515, and the abbey, renowned Saint-Maixent in his honour, prospered thanks to the gifts of the Merovingian kings. In the seventh century, Abbé Léger, the future bishop of Autun, was buried there after his martyrdom, and his relics were kept in a crypt still visible today. The Norman invasions (848–866) forced the monks to flee with the relics, returning only in 924.

Romanesque abbey was built between 1093 and 1134 after several destructions (treaming of land in 1059, fires in 1075–1116). It houses the relics of Saint Maixent and Saint Léger until the wars of Religion, where it was looted and destroyed by Protestants in 1562 and 1568. The reconstruction began in 1668 under the congregation of Saint-Maur, with architect François Le Duc. The first stone was laid in 1670, and the church, mixing Romanesque bases and Gothic style, was consecrated in 1682. The crypt was redecorated in 1681, and the Abbey briefly became cathedral (1790–1801) during the Revolution.

The abbey was transformed into a feed shop and then a hospital during the Vendée Wars, becoming the Canclaux barracks in 1877, housing the National School of Non-commissioned Officers until 2011. Ranked a Historic Monument in 2012, it retains remarkable elements such as a monumental staircase (1699–1727) and a 1660 gate. Its abbey, partially rebuilt after 1568, illustrates the architectural transitions between Romanesque, Gothic and classical. The arrow, unfinished in the 15th century, was replaced in 1888.

The site, returned to the city in 2011, served as the setting for the series So Be They (2012–2013). Its history reflects the religious, political and military upheavals of France, from the Merovingians to the contemporary era. The archaeological remains, including those of St. Saturnin's Church, and the tombs of the founding saints make it a major historic place in New Aquitaine.

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