Maillezais Abbey 7 by Kordouane

Photography • Historical • posted on Jan 27, 2018

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Description

In 1589, Agrippa d'Aubigné, a Protestant, a scholar and a poet, became the bishop[citation needed] and fortified the cathedral with a watch tower. The fort became a stronghold of the Protestants for the next thirty years till the Duke of Rohan succeeded him. When during the late 16th and early 17th century the Protestants of the Huguenots had converted it into a fort-like structure, the Catholics had to even baptize their children outside the city limits. It remained under the control of the Protestants till 1618. But by 1619 the cathedral was back under the control of the Catholics and Henri de Sourdis became the Bishop. In 1629, the Bishopric of Maillezais was one of the richest in France with a lease value of 35,000 livres. It remained the seat of the Bishopric of Maillezais until 1648, when Pope Innocent X transferred the bishopric to the St. Louis Cathedral of La Rochelle, in the Diocese of La Rochelle. The monastic community continued at the Maillezais site until 1666, when the entire site was abandoned. The cathedral site remained dormant till after the French Revolution when it was sold as national property to serve as a stone quarry. In 1840, it was returned to the people who decided to maintain the cathedral as a heritage monument. It was designated a historical monument on 30 January 1924. It was only after 1996 that the General Council of the Vendée took interest in its restoration.

Comments (15)

DukeNukem2005

8:50AM | Sat, 27 January 2018

This is a wonderful image!

Jean_C

9:25AM | Sat, 27 January 2018

Superbes vieux murs, jolie photo, Mo!

T.Rex

10:46AM | Sat, 27 January 2018

Beautiful photo with the blue and green contrasting with the hewn stone. I see you were up in the left hand corner from which you took your overview photo. A bit frightening, so high up. Were there any protective railings so people can't fall down? Keep up the good work! :-)