Abbaye Saint-Junien de Nouaillé-Maupertuis et le champ de la bataille de Poitiers

Nouaillé-Maupertuis

In the valley of the Miosson, behind its water-filled moats and fortified wall, the abbey of Nouaillé seems to have been standing guard for thirteen centuries. Founded in the 7th century by clerics of Saint-Hilaire in Poitiers — the "cella novaliacensis" that would give the place its name — it took off when it received, around 830, the relics of Saint Junien, a Poitevin hermit whom tradition makes a contemporary and friend of Saint Radegund; the abbey then took his name and consecrated a new church, whose chevet and Romanesque porch-belfry survive. Around it, a village grew up in the 11th century; in the 15th, the abbey bristled with walls and towers that give it its singular look of a fortress-monastery. But Nouaillé is also a battlefield: on 19 September 1356, at Maupertuis, on the nearby plateau, the French chivalry was crushed. The Black Prince there captured King John II the Good — the famous "Battle of Poitiers", in reality fought here, which would cost France a colossal ransom and the Treaty of Brétigny. From the abbey, you can walk to the battlefield, the Gué de l'Homme ford on the Miosson and the Bois de la Garenne. Every year, the association Nouaillé 1356 and its 250 volunteers bring the event back to life: night-time re-enactments of the battle and the medieval festival of "La Rançon du Roy" (the King's Ransom), on the last Sunday in June. A medieval-style garden of around a hundred plants completes the visit.

Getting there : Village of Nouaillé-Maupertuis, 10 km south-east of Poitiers (D12). Abbey church open from 9 am to sunset, precinct and medieval-style garden freely accessible; battlefield, Gué de l'Homme ford and Bois de la Garenne reachable on foot from the abbey. Coordinates given for the village (approach point).

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound