Eglise abbatiale de St Jouin de Marnes

The abbey church of Saint-Jouin de Marnes belonged to the most important abbey of Poitou. Founded in the 4th century, it was rebuilt between 1095 and 1130 and fortified in the 14th century. It was an opulent abbey during the Middle Ages. The abbey church is one of the signs of this prosperity, it was built under the impulse of the monk Raoul who became abbot around 1100. Masterpiece of the art of Poitevin Romanesque with exceptional dimensions, it belonged to a grandiose ensemble, including the south gallery of the Gothic cloister and the convent building of the seventeenth century.