The Notre-Dame de Royan church was founded in 1958 following the destruction of a former church (dating from 1874) during the Second World War. Built by architects Guillaume Gillet and Marc Hébrard, it is considered a masterpiece of modern architecture.
The church was built from the 11th century on the initiative of the Benedictines of the Abbey of Saint-Jean-d'Angély, who would have made the sanctuary a stopover on one of the roads to Santiago de Compostela.
The church of Jeune-Soulac is more than two kilometres away from the abbey church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Fin-des-Terres: it is not oriented, perhaps in order to protect the entrance from the sandy westerly winds.
Built in the heart of the Baconnais forest, the monastery seems to have existed since the middle of the 11th century. The place already seemed to have been put under the name of Sainte-Gemme.
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