Église Saint-Pierre

Situated in the heart of the town, the present-day church of Nieul-le-Dolent is one of the many built in the Vendée in the second half of the 19th century.

Situated in the heart of the town, the present-day church of Nieul-le-Dolent is one of the many built in the Vendée in the second half of the 19th century.
Like its predecessors, it is under the patronage of Saint-Pierre.
There is evidence of a church in Nieul-le-Dolent in the 5th and 6th centuries, already under the patronage of Saint-Pierre.
As early as the 11th century, the Romanesque church at Nieul was under the control of the Sainte-Croix de Talmont abbey, which appointed its warden.
In 1569, during the Wars of Religion, the church was burnt down.
Around 1850, Abbé Chauvet, then parish priest of Nieul-le-Dolent, and the parishioners complained about the deplorable state of their church.
The initial idea was to restore the old church by enlarging it, but Sieur Clair, the departmental architect, proposed changing the orientation of the building, which would have meant demolishing the old building.
Work began in May 1857 and was largely completed by March 1861.
A few years later, the bell tower was blown down by a violent storm.
It was rebuilt in 1873, but modified and raised by around 5 metres.
The church was restored in 1968, with the installation of the high altar facing the congregation, and the exterior paintings were redone.