Randonnée Saint-Gelais – La pierre et l’eau
Route details
Description
Happy hiking and remember that you are not alone on the trails you are about to travel. We therefore invite you to respect nature: avoid picking flowers and plants, do not leave any trash behind, respect inhabited places, stay on the trails, keep dogs on a leash.
Your itinerary
Step 1
Saint-Gelais offers a wide view of the Sèvre Niortaise. On the side of a hill, the village, whose 1st lord is Hugues de Lusignan, nestles around its church, its temple and its castle. The sanctuary, built in 1109, dominates the valley as well as the Renaissance castle built by the Protestant Charles V of St-Gelais. The cup and the basket of the Lord's Supper sculpted at the ridge of its south gable bear witness to the fact that the Calvinist cult was celebrated there until 1643. From 1681, the terrible atrocities of the Dragons of King Louis XIV decimated the ranks of the Protestants. A new temple was rebuilt in 1844. Don't also miss the Mélusine fountain, a contemporary nod to the legendary affiliation of St-Gelais to the most famous character of Poitou.
Step 2
Contemplate the lovely panoramic view of the Sèvre valley.
Step 3
At the end of the 1109th century, Gelasius was the successor of Hilary, evangelist of Poitou. The church, dedicated to him, was built in XNUMX by Raoul de Lusignan known as le Brun, near the priory on which it depends. Its oldest part, apse and choir, is entirely representative of Romanesque art. The more recent facade, with its elegant portal, is in the flamboyant Gothic style and was undoubtedly rebuilt, like the nave, at the end of the XNUMXth century. From the square, we can see the large buttresses placed in support of the pillars, and the bell tower, a massive square tower flanked on one of its sides by a turret ending in a stone cone. Located at the top of rue de la Cueille-Saint-Jacques, it welcomes pilgrims coming down from Parthenay on their way to Santiago de Compostela.
Step 4
Circular temple (rotunda 7 meters in diameter) built according to Chavonet's plans from 50. The temple was put into service in 1846, but a faulty implementation of the vault made all words inaudible: work was carried out. therefore undertaken in 1849. Some work was carried out in 1851. The temple is used for Protestant worship once every three months. (source: monumentum.fr)
Step 5
Renaissance style castle built by the Protestant Charles V of Saint-Gelais. First building of which only a large room with fireplace remains. Building enlarged 20 years later with the addition of a perpendicular wing. Hexagonal tower with a spiral staircase. Presence of the cup and the basket of the Holy Scene sculpted at the ridge of the south gable. (Source: niortagglo.fr)
Step 6
In several communes of Deux-Sèvres, you will find various wash houses. We can qualify them as small heritage and the La Fuye washhouse is one of them.
Step 7
Here is another wash house which, notice, looks very similar to the previous wash house.
Step 8
Flowing from an underground pocket, it was once a source of precious water. Excavations attest to occupation during the Gallo-Roman era.
Step 9
Work by Patrick Chappet created in 2009, it evokes the legend of Mélusine and the origin of Saint-Gelais closely linked to the lords of Lusignan. Remember that Mélusine is a legendary female anguiped character from Poitou, often seen as a fairy, and from popular and chivalrous tales of the Middle Ages.