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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Louis de Paimboeuf, located in the Loire-Atlantique department, is a religious building rebuilt between 1877 and 1913 in a neo-Byzantine style. The works, conducted in two phases (1877-1879 and 1895-1913), were led by architects Lucien Douillard and Ludovic-François Douillard. The originality of the church lies in its Latin cross plan, its central nave flanked by two collaterals, and a cul-de-four apse. Note, the absence of traditional liturgical orientation, a rare feature for a church.

The choir houses a major historical element: the altar of the Cistercian abbey Notre-Dame de Buzay, founded in the 12th century by Bernard de Clairvaux. This abbey, destroyed during the Vendée Wars during the French Revolution, today leaves only a few ruins. The altar, saved from the flames, finds here a second life. The interior walls are decorated with paintings, including La Mort de Saint Louis, a work by Alexis Douillard, brother of architects, whose preparatory cards were exhibited at the Salon of 1884.

Ranked a historic monument by decree of 1 September 2006, the church is also distinguished by its interior decoration entirely painted. The town of Paimboeuf is the owner, and the building remains a landmark architectural and artistic testimony of the late 19th century in Pays de la Loire. Its neobyzantine style, not common in the region, reflects the eclectic influences of the era, mixing medieval heritage and technical innovations.

The location of the church, Church Square or 25 Church Street according to the sources, makes it a central point of the village. The architects Douillard, local figures, marked the religious landscape of Loire-Atlantique, with several achievements in the region. Their collaboration with Alexis for interior decors underscores the importance of family networks in the major construction sites of the time.

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