Talmont cité médiévale

Colour code: Red

3 possible starting points: Place du Payré / Les Gâtines car park / Place de l’Église de Saint-Hilaire.

Route description:

• Saint-Hilaire Church – Listed as a Historic Monument. Founded in the early 11th century, this Romanesque church with two bell towers underwent major restoration work in 1520 before being ransacked by Protestant troops in 1569. The poor condition of the building necessitated the reconstruction of the nave and façade, followed by the bell tower and spire, in the 19th century.

• Château des Granges-Cathus (* Private property) It features a remarkable spiral staircase decorated with sculptures depicting the life of its owner.

• Bread oven and mobile wine press Restored in 2008, it was used by local residents to bake their Easter bread.

• Marais du Pré-Pont LPO (League for the Protection of Birds) nature reserve.

• Plan d’eau de la Chapelle Car park, picnic area, playground and fitness trail.

• Birthplace of Louis Chaigne (* Private property) A man of letters, he published his first work in 1927, followed by seventy-one more. He was awarded the rank of Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in 1960, and the Académie Française’s Grand Prix de la Prose the following year.

• Town Hall and Aliénor Media Centre.

• Covered market & Place du Payré.

• Former railway station. The station was served by two lines operated by the Vendée Tramways Company: Les Sables d’Olonne to Champ Saint-Père from 1902 to 1949, and Talmont to Luçon from 1930 to 1949.

• Castle moat and Jardins car park. Water from the Sauvagère stream flows into the castle moat (La Patauderie).

• Medieval castle (11th–12th centuries) An initial wooden castle was built on a motte in 1025, followed in 1049 by a stone castle. Under Richard the Lionheart, Lord of Talmont, it was substantially altered. In 1628, Louis XIII and Richelieu ordered its demolition to prevent the English and French Protestants from taking refuge there.

• Salle Louis Chaigne Former market halls built around 1861, featuring a medallion on the pediment of the building depicting Ceres, the Roman goddess of the harvest.

• Saint-Pierre Church The neo-Gothic church in Talmont was built from 1901 onwards on the site of an earlier church erected in 1572, which was subsequently sold as national property during the Revolution.

• Chemin des Prêches View of the spur, a defensive feature of the castle.

• Former Abbey of Sainte Croix (* Private property) Guillaume le Chauve, Prince of Talmont, founded the Benedictine abbey in 1040. It enjoyed its heyday from the 12th to the 15th century. It was plundered and set on fire by the Huguenots in 1570 during the Wars of Religion and abandoned before the Revolution. The present building was constructed on the site of the abbey’s ruins.

• Birthplace of Auguste Goichon 1890–1961 (* Private property) A painter renowned for his depictions of military uniforms. He painted landscapes of the Talmont area, with a particular fondness for Le Veillon. In 1930, he illustrated the ‘Talmont Tourist Guide’ published by Louis Chaigne. In 1940, he became the official painter to the Navy.

• Maison basse des Gâtines (* Private property) – 1678.

• Small bridge over the Bois Jaulin stream valley. It provided a link between the village of Saint Hilaire and access to Talmont from the north.