SAINT-JEAN-D'ORBESTIER ABBEY
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Ruined abbey, a site full of history, a place for visits and cultural events in Sables-d'Olonne.
The Saint-Jean d'Orbestier abbey is located in the former commune of Château-d'Olonne, near the ocean. It is a testimony of what was an important Benedictine monastery between the 12th and 18th centuries. It was William IX, Duke of Aquitaine, Count of Poitou and Lord of Talmond, great-grandfather of Richard the Lionheart, who founded the abbey in 1107 on a domain of 800 hectares. The foundation charter mentions a vast forest around the monastery, named Orbisteruim, which would have given its name to the abbey "Orbis Teminus" which means the end of the world. Richard the Lionheart contributed greatly to the influence of the monastery by confirming the privileges given to the monks of Orbestier by his great-grandfather William IX and by making the forest of Orbestier his favorite hunting ground. On these hunting grounds of the lords of Talmont, the monks made prosper an agricultural domain including vineyards, salt marshes, mills, fisheries... The abbey was burned down for the first time in 1251, and was pillaged and devastated several times, in 1340, during the Hundred Years War, and in 1569, during the Wars of Religion. In 1769, the abbey, in ruins, was definitively closed and only the sacristan and the prior resided there. During the Revolution, the abbey was sold as national property. Then, from 1821 onwards, it was used as a bittern for ships. It has undergone several important restorations in recent years. Today, it is a place for visits and cultural events.
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