Les Essarts () is a former

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Vendée Vendée (; br, Vande) is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.

department in the Pays de la Loire

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

in western

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. Since 1 January 2016, it is part of Essarts-en-Bocage.

Geography

The town of Les Essarts is located between the A83 and the A87 freeways, between

La Roche sur Yon La Roche-sur-Yon () is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. It is the capital of the department. The demonym for its inhabitants is ''Yonnais''. History The town expanded significantly after Na ...

and

Les Herbiers Les Herbiers () is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region, western France. Population Sport Les Herbiers is host to the Chrono des Nations, an annual one-day individual time trial bicycle race, held in October. Le ...

, 55 km from

les Sables d'Olonne Les Sables-d'Olonne (; French meaning: "The Sands of Olonne"; Poitevin: ''Lés Sablles d'Oloune'') is a seaside town in Western France, on the Atlantic Ocean. A subprefecture of the department of Vendée, Pays de la Loire, it has the administ ...

and 30 km from Le

Puy du Fou Puy du Fou () is a historical theme park in Les Epesses in the Pays de la Loire region of western France. It receives more than 2 million visitors every year, making it one of the most popular theme parks in France. In 2019 and 2020, it is the f ...

History

The city was built at the Roman period. At the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, there was a lord in the middle of the town, and a

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

was built. During the

war in the Vendée The war in the Vendée (french: link=no, Guerre de Vendée) was a counter-revolution from 1793 to 1796 in the Vendée region of France during the French Revolution. The Vendée is a coastal region, located immediately south of the river Loir ...

, on 25 June 1795, a battle took place in the Les Essarts

. Charette hired Louis Pageot, one of his lieutenants, to surprise the garrison of Les Essarts. 300 republicans were caught, and then shot after the execution of 748 chouans. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Germans occupied the Moulin de l'Ansonnière.

Demography

In 2008, Les Essarts counted 4946 inhabitants (an 18% raise comparing to 1999). In 1800, date people started to record the number of inhabitants there, there was 1844 inhabitants in the town.

Sights

Historical Places

The Old Castle : The story of the castle starts at the Roman period, according to research made in 1935, which led to the creation of a «

Suovetaurilia The or was one of the most sacred and traditional rites of Roman religion: the sacrifice of a pig (), a sheep () and a bull () to the deity Mars to bless and purify land (). Summary There were two kinds: * ("suckling suovetaurilia") of a ...

» : a sacrificial altar dedicated to March. Then, the first fort in Les Essarts (a wooden castle) was made at the feudal period. Starting from the 18th century, lords living around started to build a castle in stone. During the

(1793–1796, counterrevolution in the Vendée region of France during the French Revolution) the castle was partly destroyed. Descendants of the Lespinay and De Rougé families still own it. The St Pierre Church: The St Pierre Church was built in the 19th century. Before that a Roman church was at this place, built in the 11th and 12th centuries. It was burnt during the war in the Vendée by the Republican forces. The entrance of the previous church still exists, it has been transported stone by stone in the castle’s park. The Crypt: The crypt, located near from the sacristy, was built in the 12th century. It is referenced as a historical monument since 1971. The previous train station: In 1898, a railroad was built to link

Cholet Cholet (, , probably from Latin language, Latin ''cauletum'', "cabbage") is a Communes of France, commune of western France in the Maine-et-Loire Departments of France, department. With 54,307 inhabitants (2019), it is the second most populous c ...

to Les Sables d’Olonne. Between

and

, there was the Les Essarts train station. The train disappeared in Les Essarts in 1950 and has been restored as a place to live. L’Ansonnière Mill: It is one of the last Mill that we could found before in this town. In 1926, Alcide Gautron stopped his activity. During WWII, German people occupied it and transformed it in an observatory point. In 1992, the Mill was bought by the town hall and restored.

Clubs

The town of Les Essarts has various associations with diverse goals. Thus, you can find sport clubs, like Les Korrigans dancing club, the soccer team, or the basketball team, cultural and leisure clubs, like a music club etc. Some clubs are working in the agricultural world, others in the social world, like

Telethon A telethon (a portmanteau of "television" and "marathon") is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or even days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other purportedly worthy cause. Most telethons f ...

. Also, some clubs are representing the military or the education. The town of Les Essarts is also the headquarters of the cycling team Vendée U Pays de la Loire, and of the professional cycling team

Europcar Europcar Mobility Group is a French car rental company founded in 1949 in Paris. The head office of the holding company, Europcar Group S.A., is in the business park of Val Saint-Quentin at Voisins-le-Bretonneux (Saint Quentin en Yvelines), Fr ...

(the leader of this team, Thomas Voeckler, ended up being 4th at the end of the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

in 2011).

Events

The town of Les Essarts was a stage city of the

in 2005 and in 2011. First, Les Essarts was the ending town of the 2nd stage of the Tour de France 2005, which was linking

Challans Challans () is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. Challans station has rail connections to Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie and Nantes. Population Notable people * Pauline de Lézardière, bo ...

to Les Essarts. Then, on 3 July 2011, the 2nd stage of the Tour de France 2011, a team-time trial which had Les Essarts as a starting and an ending point! The departure was in the Old Castle, then they went to Boulogne,

Dompierre-sur-Yon Dompierre-sur-Yon (, literally ''Dompierre on Yon'') is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. Geography The river Yon forms the commune's southeastern border. See also *Communes of the Vendée ...

and

La Merlatière La Merlatière () is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. See also *Communes of the Vendée department The following is a list of the 257 communes of the Vendée department of France. The com ...

, and came back to les Essarts.

Partnerships with other towns

Les Essarts has a partnership with

Neunkirchen-Seelscheid Neunkirchen-Seelscheid ( ksh, Nüngkirche-Seelscheidt) is a municipality in the Rhein-Sieg district in the southern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Beside the two principal places Neunkirchen and Seelscheid there are numerous smaller loc ...

in Germany since 1991 and with

Bicester Bicester ( ) is a historical market towngarden town and civil parish in the Cherwell district of northeastern Oxfordshire in Southern England that also comprises an eco town at North-East Bicester and self-build village aGraven Hill Its loca ...

in the United Kingdom since 1992. Neunkirchen-Seelscheid is located in the Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, near from Cologne, and Bicester in the Oxford region.