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Step 1: The Dungeon
On the banks of the Sèvre Niortaise, stands one of the most beautiful sets of twin Romanesque dungeons in France and the first building in Niort to be classified as a Historic Monument. It formed the central recess of a vast castle in the shape of a quadrilateral 1 m long. It was the King of England, Henry II Plantagenet, who, wanting to put in a state of defense the domains that his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine brought him through her marriage, decided to have it rebuilt, at the end of the 700th century, an impregnable fortress.
Step 2: Prefecture of Deux-Sèvres
The Prefecture, built from 1828 to 1830 in the neoclassical style by Pierre-Théophile Segretain, replaces an old botanical garden. Polygonal in shape, this garden included an icehouse, a plantation of fruit trees, an orangery, hot baths and a swimming school on the banks of the Sèvre. Two sculptures of nymphs on the pediment of the building symbolize Sèvre Niortaise and Nantaise. Between the two women, Marianne is represented, almost erased.
Step 3: Niort remand center
This establishment was inaugurated on March 1, 1853. The building has been classified as a historic monument since April 14, 1987. This prison was built following the decree signed by the emperor during his visit to Niort on August 7, 1808. This decree will induce the most important transformations of the city. This work will be carried out under the responsibility of the architect Pierre Théophile Segrétain.
Step 4: Notre-Dame Church of Niort
Built from 1491 to 1534 in the flamboyant Gothic and Renaissance style on an old Romanesque chapel, the Notre-Dame church was remodeled and restored in the 75th century, XNUMXth century and XNUMXth century. Placed on the Way of Saint-Jacques de Compostela, it houses the Saint-Roch chapel once dedicated to pilgrims. It is the highest monument in the Deux-Sèvres department. The Gothic spire of its bell tower rises XNUMX meters high! It is said to be the work of the fairy Mélusine, half-woman and half-snake, who, surprised in her work, forgot to lay the last stone!
Step 5: The Gardens of the Breach
The 2nd heart of Niort – La Brèche, one of the largest squares in the west of France, is located in the heart of the city, between the old town and the modern districts. Its name was given to it following the 1747 flood of the Bouillounouse, the river on which the place was built, forcing the drilling of a breach in the city walls to discharge the water into the Sèvre. Built from 1750 on a vast marshland to host Niort's livestock fairs outside the walls, the square was subsequently decorated with a "French-style" garden, a monumental staircase, a balustrade and of a fence grid framing two rows of chestnut trees. From 1923 to 1972, it hosted the May exhibition fair. Subsequently becoming “a large roundabout with a parking lot in the middle”, La Brèche is today converted into a pedestrian esplanade.
Step 6: Bernard d'Agesci Museum
Former girls' high school, built by Georges Lasseron in 1897, which today brings together three museums in one: Fine Arts (sculpture, painting, decorative arts, goldsmithing, violin making, etc.), Natural History (regional geology, ornithology, etc.), conservatory of education (school objects and furniture, scientific equipment, maps, school books and films, etc. retracing a century and a half of teaching).
Step 7: The Pillory
Built from 1530 to 1535 by the master mason Mathurin Berthomé on the foundations of a 1887th century building, this “fortress of municipal freedoms” is the former Town Hall of Niort from the Middle Ages to the Revolution. It bears this name to remind us that in the past the mayor had the right to administer justice. For this reason, two iron collars, fixed in the wall of the building, made it possible to “pilorize” the offender wearing a sign on his neck on which his offense was mentioned. A lapidary and numismatic museum from 1987 to 13, the Historic Monument is today the “Visual Arts Space” (place for temporary exhibitions on contemporary works). Open hours provided by the artists from Tuesday to Saturday, from 19 p.m. to 30:XNUMX p.m. (free entry).
Step 8: Saint Andrew's Church
Proudly erected on the highest hill in Niort, the church of Pierre-Théophile Segrétain, first architect of the Deux-Sèvres Historical Monuments, looks like a cathedral with its two 70-metre-high spiers.
Present since the 11th century, it experienced the Wars of Religion and the Revolution before being completely rebuilt in the 19th century in the neo-Gothic style. The Saint-André church was, it is said, at the end of the 17th century, "the most beautiful and largest in the province" and also historically older than Notre-Dame.
During the Revolution, largely destroyed, it was renamed and named the “Temple of the Mountain”. In 2015, like the Saint-Hilaire church in Niort by the same builder, it was included on the additional list of Historic Monuments.
Step 9: The Guesclin Center
Like any city, Niort mobilizes its citizens to defend its territory. The bourgeois militia keeps watch to secure the streets. Louis XIII transformed it in 1621 into the Royal-Niort regiment.
Abuses in Protestant Poitou at the end of the 17th century. led the king to maintain soldiers in Niort whose accommodation was provided by the inhabitants.
It was to relieve the population that the construction of a barracks was decided in 1732 and the work completed in 1751. 43 cavalry regiments occupied it for more than 160 years. One of the most illustrious is the 7th HUSSARD regiment, quartered from 1892 to 1919, and which distinguished itself during the Napoleonic Wars, the War of 1870 and the Great War.
The military use of the site disappeared in the second half of the 20th century. The Duguesclin Center today hosts various public and cultural establishments.
Step 10: The Sèvre Niortaise
The Sèvre Niortaise makes endless meanders like an eel. Traveled by the GR 36, its green valley, with its shaded banks dominated by wooded hillsides, brings tranquility and freshness to walkers. It is a mosaic of colors – blue, yellow, green… – in the open sky and soft, smiling landscapes. The blue gold of the Niortais region is one of the richest rivers in France. Moreover, its name comes from the Celtic word meaning nourishing sap. Take the side paths to discover small, discreet monuments that reflect the rural soul of the towns.
Step 11: The Niort market halls
A classified site, this temple of gluttony is a “cathedral” of cast iron, glass and steel built in 1869, in the Baltard style (*). Every day of the year except Mondays, the customer is warmly welcomed by 140 local traders and producers! Its triangular pediment is decorated with figures of Mercury, god of commerce, travel and thieves; and Ceres, goddess of the harvest, seated on the attributes of agriculture (fruits and vegetables). (*) The architecture of the building is inspired by the style of the Halles Centrales de Paris built by the architect Baltard and which has now disappeared.