13. Saumur to Le Thoureil

It is likely that this place of worship predates the monastery of Saint-Florent. Its name is attested in 866 by an abbot of the monastery. It is located on the banks of the Loire River at the exit of Saumur in the old village of Saint-Florent-le-Vieux.
The present church is not the one mentioned in the texts. It is the result of a stone construction built in the 11th century, rather in the first half. Packed under its imposing bell tower, it seems Romanesque, even if only a few original elements remain. A few sections of walls and capitals in the north transept, rough and very worn, are original. A new nave and façade were added in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The church is closed.

This church built in tuffeau (local stone) owes its name to the meadows that bordered it in medieval times, when the Loire River flowed further north.
The square tower of the bell tower and the side door of the choir date from the 12th century. The bell tower and its geminated bays are typical of Romanesque art.
The chapel was sufficient for several centuries but the economic activities, stone extraction and cutting, and navigation on the Loire, attracted a new population. In 1837, the church was enlarged, the side door of the Romanesque period was dismantled to be inserted, stone by stone in the new masonry.

In the 8th century Pépin le Bref, father of Charlemagne, gave the Clementiniacus estate to the Benedictine monks of Saint-Aubin d'Angers who founded the Saint-Macé priory nearby. The monks of Saint-Aubin d'Angers began building the church in the 12th century. It will be restored in the 19th century.

The feudal clod and the Tower of Trier
In the 11th century, the Count of Anjou Foulques Nerra established a fortified mound on the heights of Trier. It was from this stronghold that in 1026 he attacked Lord Gildouin, who held the Saumur region on behalf of Eudes II of Blois.
The Tower of Trier is the only remnant of Robert the Mason's former castle (15th century). It was connected to the rest of the castle by a drawbridge. In 1750, Trier Castle, which had been converted into a pleasure residence, was sold to Jean de Stapleton. He had it demolished, leaving only the main tower. The three lower levels are devoted to the defence and the kitchens. The last two floors are those of the seigneurial apartments. A staircase leads to the terrace surrounded by a machicolated parapet walk.

Notre-Dame de Cunault is the church of a priory located in the former commune of Cunault (now Chênehutte-Trèves-Cunault).
The first building was a monastery founded by Saint Maxentius, evangelizer of the region, in the 4th century. In the 9th century, the monks were driven out by the Viking invasion.
As a refugee in Tournus in Burgundy, the priory became a dependency of Tournus Abbey.
In 1741, after having suffered the torments of the Wars of Religion, the priory was suppressed and the choir dismantled.
In 1754, the nave became the new parish church of Cunault, replacing the parish church of Saint-Maxenceul, destroyed that year by a hurricane. Remains are visible near the cemetery.
The church reveals a large interior. It has a large and luminous ambulatory. The last bays of the nave are built in the Angevin Gothic style.
Its austere 13th-century facade is pierced by a tympanum.
Notre-Dame de Cunault is famous for its 223 sculpted capitals and its murals, which make it a real artistic treasure.
The church keeps in its place the shrine of Saint Maxenceul, the founder of the abbey church, it is carved in a single block of walnut.

The Saint-Vétérin church already existed in the 9th century and belonged to the royal domain. In 845 King Charles the Bald gave the church to the Abbey of Saint-Maur. Only a few elements remain from this period. The church was regularly restored, probably as a result of a sloping and unstable ground.

The Church of St. Eusebius is located on Via Columbani, it still preserves all its eastern part (choir and transept) from the Romanesque period. The nave is partly ruined but the south wall has a small device probably dating back to the Carolingian period.
The base of the bell tower is from the 13th century and the spire, from the 15th century, was destroyed in 1940 and again in 1944. It was during the Second World War that an observation post was set up in the bell tower, which caused the spire to be destroyed by German shells.
THE BRINE CADET MEMORIAL
Armed with their training equipment, officer cadets from the Saumur Cavalry School opposed the German advance on the Loire in June 1940. At the end of May, the men deployed from Gennes to Montsoreau, a front of 40 km. While Pétain's speech calling for an end to the fighting and the intention of an armistice was broadcast on 17 June 1940, the pupils were to hold the position under the command of Colonel Michon.
On 19, 20 and 21 June 1940, they fight with courage and determination in a sacrificial battle against the German troops superior in number and armament. It is the first act of armed resistance on the national territory. The graves of the Cadets killed in action, initially grouped together in the Gennes cemetery, were transferred to the foot of the Saint-Eusèbe church. The memorial has 17 graves of soldiers killed in Genoa and the Saumur region.

The church of Saint-Genulf du Thoureil was built in the 11th century on the alluvial terrace on the banks of the Loire, out of reach of the floods of the Loire. It was in the 13th century that the bell tower was built on the Loire side.
The construction of the Grande Levée d'Anjou from the 12th century, on the right bank of the river will have harmful repercussions on the sanctuary. The rise of the flood level, the acceleration of the current will undermine and reduce the bank. In the 18th century, the church, invaded by the highest waters, was disused and abandoned in 1781. In 1807, a new church was rebuilt and consecrated under the name of Saint-Charles.
Two very beautiful hunts from the Abbey of Saint-Maur de Glanfeuil are displayed on each side of the choir.