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Origin and history

The church Saint-Martin de Sallertaine, located in the department of Vendée (Pays de la Loire), is a religious building whose origins date back to the early 11th century, when it was founded as a priory dependent on the Abbey of Marmoutier. The remains of this first construction partially remain in the present walls. Most of the building visible today is the result of a major reconstruction carried out at the end of the 12th century, marked by an official consecration in 1173 by the Bishop of Poitiers. This period saw the emergence of a hybrid style, where Romanesque techniques (such as the cupola of the transept cross) were alongside Gothic elements inspired by the Plantagenet model, although poorly controlled by local artisans.

The church is distinguished by its atypical vault: the cross of the transept has a Romanesque dome covered with purely decorative veins, imitating the angeline vaults without adopting its structural function. Originally, the ship was entirely decorated with frescoes, of which fragments remain, including a rare crucifixion representing a Christ with open eyes. These decorations, as well as part of the nave, have disappeared over the centuries, especially during the wars of Religion (1568), which damaged the building. The restorations begun in 1617 profoundly altered his appearance: the Romanesque windows were enlarged, a frame arrow was crossed, and three retables were added, resulting in the destruction of the southern absidiole.

In the 19th century, the church, considered too small, was replaced by a new parish building in 1906. Threatened by destruction, it was saved by the intervention of Abbé Grelier, passionate about archaeology, who obtained his classification at the Historical Monuments in 1910 and 1912. Despite this protection, the municipality had the western end of the nave shaved in 1915, retaining only the abside, the transept and the first span. Today, the Church of St.Martin bears witness to medieval stylistic transitions and the vagaries of local history, from its role as Benedictine priory to its turbulent preservation.

The elements protected under the Historic Monuments include the abside, the transept (classified in 1910) and the first span of the nave (classified in 1922). The building, owned by the municipality of Sallertaine, preserves traces of its monastic past and its successive transformations, including baroque altarpieces and liturgical modifications of the 17th and 18th centuries. Its present state reflects both its rich heritage and the losses suffered over the centuries, from religious conflicts to modern urbanist choices.

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