Chapelle des Templiers (la Madeleine du Temple)

Clisson

In the Madeleine quarter of Clisson, this Romanesque chapel, founded before 1213, is the last remnant of a Templar commandery, attached to that of Mauléon and then to the commandery of La Rochelle in Poitou after the transfer of Templar property to the Hospitallers of Saint John of Jerusalem in 1312. Oriented to the south-east, it combines a nave of three bays with pointed vaults, a choir and an apse bearing sixteen carved corbels, and a small bell-cote with round-headed openings, a characteristic feature of Templar churches. A tombstone marked with a cross pattée can still be seen there. Ravaged by the infernal columns in 1794 during the Vendée wars, the chapel was restored in the 1970s and 1980s by the Compagnons du Devoir, who among other things remade the roof in Pontchâteau stone; it has been listed as a historic monument since 11 July 1975.

Getting there : Visible from outside, impasse de la Commanderie; conditions for visiting the interior not documented

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

Ambient sound