Saint-Jean-d'Angély

Saint-Jean-d'Angély ; Saintongeais: Sént-Jhan-d'Anjhéli) is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in southwestern France.Founded in the ninth century to house a relic of Saint John the Baptist, and rebuilt in the 14th, 17th and 18th centuries because of repeated destruction, then later abandoned, the Abbey is now a listed building. It remains the most remarkable piece of architecture of Saint-Jean-d'Angély, a town which has kept all its medieval charm. Situated on the pilgrim route that led to Santiago de Compostela the edifice still constitutes a major stopping-off point towards Santiago de Compostela. Since 1989, the Royal Abbey has housed the Centre of European Culture, which has breathed new life into the Abbey by restoring it as a historical and cultural site and as a place for the exchange of ideas.

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