Like any commune, the village of Saint Benoist-sur-Mer went through different names before having its current name. Initially, the parish was named Saint Benoît d'Angles. In 1444, it became Saint Benoist, which can be written with or without "s". During the Revolution, the village was nicknamed "Bon Marais" before having its definitive name recognized: Saint Benoist-sur-Mer in 1851.
The church of Saint Benoist-sur-Mer is the one of the rare fortified churches in Vendée. It was built in the 11th century and was dedicated to Saint Benedict. All its elements were not installed at the same time: the nave and the volume of the choir were added respectively in the 11th and 12th centuries. In addition, in the 12th century, Angevin elements, such as the vault, were added according to the wishes of Richard the Lionheart. The church suffered damage many times, notably the fire of 1794 and problems with water infiltration.
Since 1956, the Saint-Benoît church has been one of the French historic monuments. It is recognized in Vendée for its magnificent 17th century altarpiece, considered unique because we can see the trinity represented there. But let's not forget that on the roof of the church, a sculpture representing a rabbit smoking a pipe is installed. Uniquely in France and even in Europe, the story of the Smoking Rabbit remains mysterious: numerous legends have taken up this “Bas-Poitevin myth”. Why does this rabbit, enemy of sailors, smoke a pipe when tobacco was only imported into France well after the construction of the church?
The Marais Poitevin:
Remember that the Marais Poitevin, which is one of the department's flagship destinations, is a creation of man. Indeed, at the time the sea roughly reached Niort: a large part of Vendée therefore did not exist, but Saint-Benoist did! It is for this reason that the town is called Saint-Benoist-"sur-mer" because the sea touched the limit of the village.
With 87 hectares of marshes, Saint-Benoist is part of the municipal marsh, it is therefore a partially floodable wet marsh which is considered an intermediate marsh. The village is one of the many communes making up the Lay Valley. You should know that the Lay is the main river in Vendée which, from Moricq, passes through the maritime zone and then flows into the Bay of Aiguillon. The communal marshes are all located around this valley, which represents a zone of extension of the Lay floods. In addition, this river crosses the commune of Saint Benoist, which makes this village an ecotourism site!
The communal marsh corresponds to a marsh where there is a pooling of herds from different breeders (cows or horses) generally carried out from April until autumn. Breeders can also come from other departments, such as Deux-Sèvres for example! In the past, residents of villages with communal marshes had the right to each have a place for their animals. As families do not all have animals, arrangements have been put in place between residents, such as: communal space in exchange for a lump of butter! Nowadays, a tax is paid by breeders in order to have grazing rights.