Abbaye Royale Notre-Dame de Lieu-Dieu

The Abbaye Royale Notre-Dame de Lieu-Dieu (also known as Lieu-Dieu-en-Jard) is a former Premonstratensian abbey located in the commune of Jard-sur-Mer, in the Vendée department of the Pays de la Loire region in western France, near the Atlantic coast and the Marais Poitevin.

It was founded in 1197 by Richard the Lionheart (Richard Cœur de Lion) for canons of the Order of Prémontré. The community had previously spent a few years at an earlier foundation in La Genétouze before transferring to this more permanent site near the sea. The abbey enjoyed about two centuries of prosperity and received a notable visitor in 1305: Bertrand de Got, who was elected Pope Clement V shortly afterwards and spent the night of 30 April–1 May at the abbey.

In the following centuries the abbey suffered three major devastations: in 1372 during the Hundred Years’ War, in 1484, and on 31 March 1568 when Calvinist forces burned the dormitory and most of the church. After partial recovery, the general of the Premonstratensian Order ordered the annexation of its goods and revenues to the order’s college in Paris in 1667 (the union became effective only after lengthy legal proceedings). By 1733 the abbey had been converted into an agricultural estate. It was sold as national property during the Revolution in 1791.

The surviving remains — the main building with its cellar, the chapter house with its staircase, and the vestiges of the abbey church and parish church — were inscribed as a Monument historique on 12 April 1927. In January 2012 the property was acquired by the du Peloux family, who have undertaken ongoing restoration work. Since 2013 the abbey has been opened to the public for guided visits, particularly in summer, allowing visitors to see the chapter house, remains of the cloister, sacristy, former church areas and other historic spaces.