Eglise Saint-Maixent de Niort

Built on a hillside, the Romanesque building falls under the abbey of St-Maixent and belongs to the archpriesthood of Exoudun until the French Revolution.
Ravaged during the Wars of Religion, partially restored in the 17th century, it was enlarged at the end of the 18th century. following the increase in the number of Catholics in proportion to the decrease in the number of Protestants. The original vaults collapsed during the work, due to the incompetence of the contractor Fillon, according to the parish, accused of storing materials on the roof to avoid the pain and expense of lowering and raising them and removing the stones from the base of a pillar. From 7 to 800 tiles were removed from the rubble! Its unique nave is today built.
The statue of the bell tower, restored in 1857, depicts Saint Maixent housed in a neogothic dais niche and trampling the fairy snake Mélusine.