Route details
Description
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Step 1
The first port of Niort was located on the site of current rue Brisson. From 1377, it was moved to be enlarged thanks to Duke Jean de Berry, who managed Poitou. This second port is located between the current streets of Fort Foucault, the port and Boulevard Main. Thanks to flat-bottomed boats, barges, passengers and goods (wheat, sheets) reach La Rochelle, to leave for distant destinations such as New France.
Step 2
The only vestige of the ancient castle of Niort, its construction began in 1180 and ended around 1199. A quadrangular enclosure 700 m long surrounds the castle. It is defended by a ditch and 12 towers. The keep was built in this strategic location to protect the port and monitor traffic on the Sèvre Niortaise. Purely defensive at first, the keep was transformed into accommodation in the 15th century, which led to the drilling of mullioned windows and the installation of fireplaces.
Step 3
This is one of the oldest streets in Niort. The Aymard sisters: Barbe, Magdeleine and Anne lived there with their father, a tailor. The three of them left in 1648 for New France, with the husbands of Barbe and Magdeleine. The latter will settle in Château-Richer. Anne married Guillaume Couture in 1649 and lived in Pointe Lévy until her death in 1700. She had 10 children.
Step 4
The current church, in neo-Gothic style, was rebuilt between 1855 and 1863 according to plans by Pierre-Théophile Segrétain. The previous church had suffered numerous destructions during the wars of religion. Inside, elements dating from the Renaissance have been preserved: a facing with a cartouche indicating 1596, boxes recovered from the ceilings, placed under the organ balcony. Several pioneers were baptized there, such as Louis-Paul Thibault, sent as a soldier in 1759 to New France. He married in 1760 in Champlain.
Step 5
In this house with shop, courtyard and garden, lived Catherine Fièbvre, born in November 1646. She was baptized at the Saint-André church although her father was Protestant. In 1663, she left with other daughters of the King for New France. Married two months after her arrival to a man from Vendée, Charles Allaire, she had 13 children. She died in 1709 in Quebec.
The Filles du Roy are young girls, mostly orphans, sent to New France, between 1663 and 1673, to start a family. Their travel and dowry were paid by Louis XIV who acted as a guardian.
Step 6
Thanks to Henri IV, a Protestant temple was built in 1591. It is located on land between what is now rue Alsace-Lorraine and rue Saint-Gelais. With a capacity of 6000 to 7000 people, it was demolished by a royal decree of October 19, 1684. Many Niort pioneers were baptized there, like Jean Veillet around 1664. He renounced his religion on April 24, 1685 before leaving for the New France where he arrived in 1687 as a soldier of the “Compagnies Franches de la Marine”.
Step 7
Named Grand-rue at the time, it was one of the most important streets in the city. Around ten inns were located there. François Picard born in February 1668 lived in this street. His date of departure for New France is not known but we know that he was present in Quebec in 1697. Then he settled in Trois-Rivières as a brewmaster. Married twice, he died on April 4, 1743 without children.
Step 8
The medieval market halls were located on what is now rue Victor Hugo. They measured 153 meters long by 20 meters wide. They were destroyed in 1793 to facilitate traffic in the city. As a master butcher, Michel Cadet's father owned a stall in Les Halles. Michel Cadet left France between 1685 and 1690 after renouncing his religion. He settled in Quebec as a master butcher. Married twice, he had a total of 10 children. He died in 1708.
Step 9
A first church was built at the beginning of the Middle Ages. It was rebuilt between the end of the 15th century and the middle of the 16th century in the flamboyant Gothic style. A grandstand in the Renaissance style is visible inside. Following the wars of religion (1562-1598), the framework was redone in the 17th century. Laurent Glorit was baptized in this church in 1639. His presence in Montreal is attested in 1658. He married there in 1664 and had 7 children. He died in 1681.
Step 10
Produced by the City of Niort with the assistance of Alexandra Rompillon-Jouarre, heritage mediator, of the Genealogical Circle of Deux-Sèvres and Marguerite Morisson-Gaboreau, author of the book Poitevins in Canada in the 2018th and XNUMXth centuries, Geste Editions, La Crèche , XNUMX.
The texts are accessible to people with disabilities and non-French speakers.
Photo credit: City of Niort; A. Rompillon-Jouarre (rue Basse); P. Galteaux (house of the Virgin); V. Found (plan of the temple); Isabel Saij (halls). English translation: Akalita Translation.