Clussais-La-Pommeraie brings together two distinct areas to explore: the history of the Église Notre-Dame de Clussais and the landscape of the Marais de Clussais-La Pommeraie. This gives visitors a cultural and an ecological focus for their stay; a specific walk with a named starting point is also highlighted. The church can be understood through its building history and design features, while the focus for the wetland is on its size, landscape and importance for biodiversity.
Church history across two periods
The Église Notre-Dame de Clussais was a dependency of the Abbey of Saint-Junien de Nouaillé and already existed around the middle of the 10th century. The present building is cautiously dated to the 12th and 13th centuries. These details refer to different periods: the earlier date concerns the existence of the church, while the later dating applies to the present building. This makes it possible to distinguish the church’s long history from the cautious dating of the current building, rather than treating both details as a single building phase.
Portal, nave and surviving traces
On the exterior, the massive portal bell tower rises above the long nave, framed by sturdy buttresses. The tower creates a vertical accent, while the length of the nave and the buttresses shape the horizontal composition. Traces of wall paintings survive in the nave and choir. There is also a medieval enfeu, a tomb niche or a tomb integrated into a wall. Its tombstone has been replaced. The same church building therefore brings together distinct architectural details: its exterior composition, traces of paintings and a historic tomb.
The marsh and the wider wetland landscape
The Marais de Clussais-La Pommeraie covers around 30 hectares and is characterised by bocage landscape. It plays an important role in preserving biodiversity. It also lies between Lezay and Sauzé-Vaussais, within a wetland complex of more than 1,000 hectares. These two figures refer to different areas: around 30 hectares for the named marsh, and more than 1,000 hectares for the wider complex. Its soils are clayey and locally peaty. Three perspectives on the landscape thus complement one another: its bocage character, the nature of its soils and the wetland’s ecological role.
Walk and landmarks
The “Les Sources de la Bouleure” walk starts at the Romanesque church of Notre-Dame des Champs. Note the full name of the starting point: Notre-Dame des Champs is distinct from the Église Notre-Dame de Clussais; these refer to two different churches.
Another named landmark is Le Montail. The 142-metre-high hill, also known as “dornée de la Mère Mélusine,” lies on the north-eastern edge of Clussais, on the right of the D110. This provides both a precisely named walk starting point and a hill identified by its height and location as orientation points.
Plan your journey
According to the municipal travel information dated February 2024, the A10 on the Paris–Bordeaux route is one of the major transport routes closest to Clussais-La-Pommeraie; Saint-Saviol railway station is also among the nearest stations. Check current connections and timetables before travelling to plan your journey.
Discover more destinations: Cerizay, Coulonges-Sur-L'autize, Granzay-Gript, Le Breuil-sous-Argenton, Vire, Saint-Martin-de-Saint-Maixent, Azay-le-Brûlé, Xaintray.
For the regional travel overview: Deux-Sèvres.
