Former Church of Notre-Dame de Pons en Charente-Maritime

Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Pons pilgrim hospital, also called a nine-hospital, was founded in 1160 by Geoffroy III of Pons to welcome pilgrims and indigents on Via Turonensis, road to Santiago de Compostela. Located outside the city walls to avoid night restrictions and the risks of epidemics, it included a sick room, a prioral church dedicated to Notre-Dame, and lodgings for canons. The whole was managed jointly by the Bishop of Saintes and the Sisters of Pons, with an unconditional reception mission, including care, food, and collections of abandoned children.

Over the centuries, the hospital underwent transformations and damage, especially during the wars of Religion in the 16th century, where the Church of Our Lady was looted and partially destroyed. Reconstructed summarily, it was abandoned in the 18th century, while the hospital, modernized under Charles-Eugène of Lorraine, welcomed sisters of charity and a free school in the 19th century. Ranked a historic monument in 1879 for its Romanesque porch, and then a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998, the site was restored between 1998 and 2004, preserving its medieval remains and its pilgrims' room.

The architecture of the nine-hospital reflects its hospitable and religious role. The Romanesque porch, divided into three vaulted spans, spanned the old Saintes-Bordeaux road and carried graffiti evoking the compostellan pilgrimage. The sick room, a vast 13th century structure, preserves Gothic bays and contemporary stained glass windows. In the east of the porch, the vestiges of the Prioral Church (38 m by 17) recall its past importance, while a vaulted crypt, an ancient mass grave, remains under a modern house. The site, now open to the public, mixes medieval heritage with subsequent reuses.

The history of the nine-hospital illustrates the challenges of medieval hospitals: managing the flow of pilgrims, adapting to crises (epidemics, wars), and changing usages (from hospital to school). Its classification by UNESCO underscores its role in the history of Compostela's roads, while its recent restorations have preserved a rare testimony of 12th century hospital architecture in Europe.

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