Attractions and Places To See around Saint-André-De-Lidon - Top 20

Very beautiful Romanesque church and small port.

Sometimes the church is open.

Magnificent port

A small town lying along the Gironde estuary, between Barzan and Mortagne-sur-Gironde, it is above all famous for its fishing port, which was the "French capital of caviar" for much of the 20th century: in the mid-1950s, between three and five tonnes of this luxury commodity were still being produced, exported worldwide. However, sturgeon fishing was banned in 1982 to protect the species; now, "Gironde caviar" is obtained from aquaculture farms: nearly twelve tonnes of caviar are produced each year in the region. At the gateway to the great marshes on the north bank of the Gironde, it is now a tourist and agricultural town.

The church suffered little damage during the Hundred Years' War and the Wars of Religion. From the end of the 18th century, maintenance work was undertaken mainly inside the church. In 1822, the reconstruction of the bell tower framework began, followed in 1852 by the restoration of the west facade. A further restoration took place around 1860, and the sacristy was enlarged by the construction of a semicircular annex extending the Romanesque apse. Beginning in 1880, a roof repair campaign began, and a new belfry was installed in the bell tower. From 1890 to 1900, the cemetery surrounding the church was moved to the "Fief des Rentes," and the former burial site was transformed into a public square. Starting in 1926, the choir roof was replaced and the bell tower was made watertight. In 1971, the work program included the renovation of the exterior walls, the demolition of the false apse and the sacristy that concealed the apse of the south transept. In 1990, the main door was replaced with oak leaves, the stones were repointed, and the collapsed arch keystone was reinstalled. In the 2000s, the municipality repaired the mechanism of the two belfry bells, and the building was illuminated and maintenance work was carried out.

The Church of Our Lady of Corme-Écluse, the seat of a former Benedictine priory of the Abbey of the Ladies of Saintes, was donated around 1104 by Ramnulfus Focaudi (Bishop of Saintes between 1083 and 1106) to the Royal Abbey of Saint-Jean-d'Angély "so that he might always enjoy it and possess it in perpetuity." This abbey was thus responsible for the reconstruction of the sanctuary in the mid-12th century in the Romanesque style. A plaque affixed to the south wall of the nave contains a few historical snippets, still legible: 1200, the Benedictines completed the construction and adorned the church with an oak statue of the Blessed Virgin; 1327, the Abbot of Saint-Jean-d'Angely and an envoy of Pope John XXII prayed before the venerated image; In 1628, a pilgrimage was established to venerate the statue; In 1733, the statue was mutilated. The desecrator was punished. The church's plan is a slightly asymmetrical Latin cross (the north arm of the transept is longer than the south arm). The nave consists of two bays covered by pointed barrel vaults. It is lit by three symbolic windows rebuilt in the 13th century. A transverse arch separates the nave from the transept, whose crossing, under the bell tower, is covered by a cupola on squinches. The south arm of the transept opens onto an apse with a semi-dome vault. However, the north arm, rebuilt in the 17th century in the Romanesque style, is slightly longer than the south arm, and is designed on a rectangular plan without an apse. This arm has a portal with columns and toric rollers. After passing the triumphal arch, the choir begins with a straight bay covered with a semi-circular barrel vault and ends with a semi-circular vaulted arch.

Upon arriving in Corme-Écluse, it's only natural to stop at the church square, the heart of the Cormillon village. On this square, facing the town hall, stands the Church of Notre-Dame. Walk around it to admire the architectural details characteristic of the 12th-century Saintonge Romanesque style. The church was the seat of a former Benedictine priory of the Abbey of the Ladies of Saintes. The sculpted decoration of the Abbey of the Ladies certainly inspired that of the church of Corme-Écluse. This was often the case; mother abbeys were taken as examples by the priories that depended on them in terms of architecture and sculpture. In some cases, it is even assumed that the sponsors, artists, or craftsmen were the same people or at least from the same circle, sometimes descendants. Since the 13th century, the monument has been the destination of numerous pilgrimages that continue to this day. The pilgrimage takes place on the third Sunday of July in the convent gardens, followed by a procession to the Church of Our Lady.

Of the first church built in the 12th century, only the apse, the transept, the Gothic chapels and the bell tower remain, which is one of the best preserved and most elegant in Saintonge. It rises on three square floors supported by a powerful stump, and each face is decorated with a slender arcade with five arches supported by columns with capitals. The upper floor is pierced on each side by three elegant semi-circular twin bays. Of the church, entrusted to the Chaise-Dieu Abbey in 1084 by Robert de Pons, only the eastern part remains, the nave having disappeared during the Wars of Religion (16th century). Inside, note the dome divided into eight compartments as well as very beautiful capitals in the original sanctuary, decorated with acanthus leaves and palmettes. An ossuary crypt, from the end of the 12th or beginning of the 13th century, located under the chapel, extends the northern arm of the transept. It is accessible by a small staircase. It is covered with a primitive ribbed cross. A stone bench goes around the crypt about 50 centimeters from the current floor. Open on request at the town hall.