Starting in 1423 during the reign of Charles VII, based on a previous Romanesque building, the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption of Fontenay-le-Comte is a striking witness to the economic, political and intellectual prosperity of the city at the dawn of modern times. Fontenay then depends on Arthur de Richemont, Constable of France: the city was brought to him by his marriage to Marguerite de Bourgogne, widow of the Dauphin Louis de Guyenne. It owes its wealth to the talent of its weavers and tanners, and to the influence of its fair, one of the most important in the kingdom.
Born from this period of abundance, the church of Notre-Dame is remarkable for the size and Gothic elegance of its flamboyant spire (82.50 m), the model of its portals (15th and 16th centuries) and its Renaissance chapels (16th century), as well as the finesse of the statues of saints (middle of the fifteenth century) which adorn its bell tower:of Compostela. The construction of the church ended at the beginning of the 16th century, in the very favourable climate that King Louis XI created in 1471 by granting the city the privileges of a royal commune.
Having lost its vaults during the Wars of Religion, the church was restored from the beginning of the 17th century, thanks to the efforts of the entire population. So much so that in 1630, Pope Urban VIII proposed it to replace the Cathedral of Maillezais, mutilated by fighting, before the episcopal siege was finally attributed to La Rochelle in 1648.
In the belfry, like a beat heart, the bell of Saint-Venant, melted in 1466, always sounds the hours and times of the city. It is one of the oldest in operation in the country.
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