Photos

July 14, 2009
Saint-Maixent-l'Ecole 790270 79400
Deux-Sèvres Poitou-Charentes
46.412 -0.203 60 m

Church and abbey, Saint-Maixent-l'École. 11th 19th centuries.

One sight. July 20th, 2009
Other sight. July 25th, 2009

A founded religious community in 459 by the monk oratorien Agapit in the valley of Sèvre, was joined into 480 by Adjutor, born in Agde in Gaule Narbonnese towards 445 of a noble family, which took the name of Maxence then, and was called MAIXENT. The monastery, about Saint-Benoit, bore initially the name of Saint-Saturnin. By its holiness, Maxence elected abbot towards 500, lived a pious life, achieving many miracles, before dying at 70 years on June 26th, 515, and being buried in the Saint-Saturnin church. After its death, the place became one of most important of the diocese of Poitiers, and then was built into 940 the abbey, the the crypt and tombs where the relics of SAINT-MAIXENT and SAINT-LEGER were deposited, another famous abbot of the abbey.
Destroyed by an earthquake, rebuilt Romance in 11th and 12th centuries, again destroyed by the Protestants in 1562 and 1568, it was rebuilt, Gothic, from 1670 to 1682 per Robert Plouvier and François Leduc says Toscane. The spire was completed in 1888.

The origin of the town of Saint-Maixent goes back to 459, when monk AGAPIT raises an oratory around whose a small named urban area SAINT-SATURNIN is built.
The city was devastated by the Vikings between 848 and 866.
An earthquake shook it in 1059, fires destroyed it in 1075,1082,1085 and 1116.
In 1204, Philippe II, Philippe Auguste, links the abbey with the kingdom of France, a castle was built in 1223 by his son Louis VIII.
Under English domination during the Hundred Years' War , the city was taken again by the constable of the king Charles V, Bertrand du Guesclin, 1320-1380, on September 4th, 1372.
It suffers also the damage of the wars of religion of 1562 to 1568.

Saint-Maixent-l'École, (My city, Sént Maessant in patois poitevin, patois of my ancestors and parents and all the members of my genealogy since always, all are poitevin), is a French commune located in the department of Deux-Sèvres of the Poitou-Charentes area, populated of 6 602 Saint-Maixentais, distributed on 5 km², that is to say 1 264 hab./km².

After having been since 1880 the seat of the School of the officers of infantry, the city is since 1963 the seat of the national school of the warrant officers of active of the French Army.

Pierre Marie Philippe Aristide Denfert-Rochereau, born in Saint-Maixent-l'Ecole, 11 January 1823 and died in Versailles, May 11, 1878, is a colonel remained famous to have directed the resistance of the fortified town of Belfort during 103 days before going on order of his government, during the Franco-German war of 1870. Called Lion of Belfort, statues of lion were set up in its honor, of which the lion of Belfort of Frederic Bartholdi. Its skin rests at the sides of his wife, in the cemetery of Montbeliard.

François de Moncorbier says VILLON, born in 1431 or 1432 in Paris, author and the French poet most known of the end of the Middle Ages, finish his days in Saint-Maixent in 1489. It was like Rabelais, the host of the abbey.

SAINT-LEGER, born in 616 of a noble family in the area of Poitiers, educated by his uncle Didon évèque of Poitiers, became into 651 to 35 years, abbot of the abbey of Saint-Maixent, until 657. After having been to advise of the Bathilda queen, it became évèque of Autun into 663. To save his town of Autun besieged into 675 by his personal enemy, the count Ebroïn mayor of the palate of Neustrie, it delivers and has the eyes flarings and the tongue cut before being imprisoned. He has the head cut on October 2 678 in the forest of Sarcing or Lucheux close to Arras, village current of Sus-Saint-Leger. A part of its remainders were collected with the diocese of Poitiers and Saint-Maixent.

Saint-Maixent-l'École.

My images of Saint-Maixent-l'École