CHURCH OF SAINT-PIERRE

Located in the heart of the town, the current church of Nieul-le-Dolent is one of the many churches built in Vendée in the second half of the 19th century.
It is placed under the patronage of Saint-Pierre, as were the previous churches.
We find traces, in the 5th and 6th century, of a church in Nieul-le-Dolent already placed under the patronage of Saint-Pierre.
From the 11th century, the Romanesque church of Nieul belonged to the abbey of Sainte-Croix de Talmont, which appointed its minister.
In 1569, during the wars of religion, the church was burned down.
Around 1850, Abbé Chauvet, then parish priest of Nieul-le-Dolent, and the parishioners complained about the deplorable state of their church.
We first thought of restoring the old church by enlarging it, but Sieur Clair, architect of the department, proposed to change the orientation of the building, which meant demolishing the old building.
Work began in May 1857 and was largely completed in March 1861.
A few years later, the bell tower was knocked down by a violent storm.
It was rebuilt in 1873, while being modified and raised by about 5 meters.
The church was restored in 1968, with the installation of the high altar facing the assembly and the exterior paintings were redone.