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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The chapel Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Prigny, built mainly in the 11th century, was originally the castral chapel of a fortified castle protecting the city of Prigny, in the Pays de Retz. Perched on an oppidum watching Bourgneuf Bay – a major commercial haven in the Middle Ages – it became the parish church after the transfer of its rights to Saint-Jouin Abbey of Marnes. Its decline began with the growth of the port of Prigny, while the village of Moutiers-en-Retz developed.

In the 17th century, the chapel was enriched with three baroque altarpieces and a sacristy. In 1730, after the destruction of the priory Saint-Nicolas, it became the only local place of worship before being threatened with demolition in 1838. Saved by the intervention of the parish priest and bishop, it was restored in 1876. Its 14th century bell tower, possibly used as a watchtower by the Templars, and its placister (old cemetery) have been classified since 1913 and 1933.

The building, not oriented east-west as usual, has a single nave vaulted structure and whitewashed walls. The south facade, enlarged in the 18th century, has a coat of arms hammered at the Revolution, possibly linked to a merchant abbot or the Sire de Rais. Inside, the high altar (1752) and the lateral retables, classified as historical monuments, house statues of regional saints like Guénole, while a 9th century Viking anchor, discovered in 1871, bears witness to the Norman occupation of the site.

The field and the two spans of the choir were classified in 1913, followed by the inscription of the entire chapel and its placister in 2016. Today it remains a communal property, an emblematic vestige of the religious and maritime history of the Land of Retz, linked to Abbé Baconnais, benefactor of its restoration in 1876.

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