La Rochelle Cathedral

The Récollets, Franciscan monks who settled in La Rochelle in 1629, built a vast convent from the Maubec canal to the present rue Amelot. Their church, burnt down in 1705 and rebuilt the following year, was bought by the Protestants after the Revolution to establish their temple. The cloister and the rest of the monastery became the convent of the Dames Blanches.

Notre-Dame-de-Cougnes Church dates back to the 12th century and is first mentioned in 1152 as the property of the Benedictine priory of the Isle of Aix. The church was the mother parish church of La Rochelle. In the 16th century, the Reformation was introduced into the church when La Rochelle became a Protestant Reformed town. During the Huguenot wars and the siege of the city, the church was severely damaged in 1586. The bell tower collapsed in 1573. The church was rebuilt in Gothic style between 1653 and 1665, integrating the preserved medieval parts. After the French Revolution, the parish church was first used as a stable before being returned to its original purpose in 1802.

The church of Sainte-Madeleine was built between 1882 and 1883. But from the end of the 19th century, with the sea baths, the development of the town was considerable and the chapel was too small. The apse was built in 1906. In 1926, further extension work was carried out by adding the left nave. It was decided to add the right-hand nave to the existing building, as well as to install panelling inside the church (1933-1934). In 2019, the creation of a monumental fresco inside the church has been entrusted to the Lille artist Amaury Dubois.