Saint-Sauveur (Île d'Yeu)
Coordinates: 46 ° 42 ′ 22 " N , 2 ° 19 ′ 55" W.
Saint-Sauveur is a place on the French Atlantic island of Ile d'Yeu in the Vendée department of the Pays de la Loire region . Saint-Sauveur is administered by the political municipality of L'Île-d'Yeu .
The fact that Saint-Sauveur is still called the secret capital of the island today is probably due to the fact that the market town was the island's capital and seat of the governor of the ancien régime until the 18th century . After the French Revolution , the place lost its importance compared to today's capital and ferry port on the island of Port-Joinville .
Structurally, the town is dominated by the church of the same name, the origins of which go back to the turning point in the first millennium AD. It was built by monks on the site of a chapel from the Merovingian period . Until the 14th century, Saint-Sauveur parish church was the only parish on the Île d'Yeu. The apse and the southern choir date from the 11th century. The tower was built in the 14th century. Despite a devastating fire in 1953, some handcrafted church windows that adorn the choir and transept have been preserved. The church tower was completely destroyed in the fire and has not been renewed to this day.
To the north and west of the church there is a maze of small streets lined with the typical white houses of the Vendée. In the summer there is a daily market in the square in front of the church, where traders sell the Pont d'Yeu, a goat cheese produced on the island, vegetables and bread. The village has ever operation of the bakery, the confectionery and butcher craft - mom and pop shop , fish and wine merchant, and a small public library and a bar.