Priory of Saint-Nicolas de La Chaize-le-Vicomte

In 1099 the church was consecrated, a structure that still survives, although mutilated. It soon became an establishment of some importance and maintained a stable community of twelve monks. Because of the danger posed by the Hundred Years’ War, the church was fortified, as can still be seen from the remains preserved on the north side of the façade; in fact, it formed part of a defensive complex together with the castle.

The present church still preserves the five bays of the three naves, the lateral ones being very narrow. The central part of the transept survives, but the apses that formed the chevet have disappeared: the central apse and the two lateral ones that opened onto the arms of the transept, which have also vanished. In the eighteenth century a bell tower was erected over the first bay of the nave; the central tower planned above the transept was probably never completed. The capitals that decorate the interior of the church should also be noted. The portal, on the other hand, is a nineteenth-century reconstruction. The tomb of Aimery IV, who is believed to have been buried here, has not been preserved.