Abbey of Blanche-Couronne

In 1234, a papal bull issued by Pope Gregory IX conferred special privileges on the abbey and put it under the "rule of Saint Benedict and the institution of the Cistercians".

Starting in the 16th century, a series of commendatory abbots — often laymen appointed by the king but also prelates like Jean, Cardinal of Lorraine — began the financial ruination of the abbey.

[1] During the French Revolution it was nationalized and in 1791 it was sold to René Vigneron, a lawyer and director of the nearby department of the Vendée.

In the late 19th century it was inherited by Marie Lecadre, the wife of the painter Auguste Toulmouche, and it became a gathering place for Parisian artists and musicians.

The south façade has a carving of the coat of arms of Jean Briçonnet, vice-chancellor of Brittany and the abbey's first commendatory abbot.