Vieux-Vy-sur-Couesnon (, literally ''Vieux-Vy on

Couesnon The Couesnon (; br, Kouenon) is a river running from the ''département'' of Mayenne in north-western France, forming an estuary at Mont Saint-Michel. It is long, and its drainage basin is . Its final stretch forms the border between the histor ...

''; br, Henwig-ar-C'houenon;

Gallo Gallo may refer to: *Related to Gaul: ** Gallo-Roman culture **Gallo language, a regional language of France **Gallo-Romance, a branch of Romance languages **Gallo-Italic or Gallo-Italian language, a branch spoken in Northern Italy of the Romance ...

: ''Vioez-Vic'') is a

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

Ille-et-Vilaine Ille-et-Vilaine (; br, Il-ha-Gwilen) is a department of France, located in the region of Brittany in the northwest of the country. It is named after the two rivers of the Ille and the Vilaine. It had a population of 1,079,498 in 2019.

department in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

in northwestern

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 ...

Geography

Vieux-Vy-sur-Couesnon is located on the

River 33 km northeast of Rennes and south of Mont Saint-Michel. The neighboring communes are Romazy, Chauvigné, Saint-Christophe-de-Valains,

Saint-Ouen-des-Alleux Saint-Ouen-des-Alleux (; br, Sant-Owen-an-Alloz) is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. Geography Saint-Ouen-des-Alleux is located northeast of Rennes and south of Mont Saint-Michel. The adjacent ...

Mézières-sur-Couesnon Mézières-sur-Couesnon (, literally ''Mézières on Couesnon''; ; Gallo: ''Maézierr'') is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. Geography Mézières-sur-Couesnon is located northeast of Rennes and ...

, Gahard, and Sens-de-Bretagne.

History

The name ''Vieux-Vy-sur-Couesnon'' probably comes from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''Vetus Victus,'' "old market town." The settlement has had this name since at least 1063.

Economy

Industries: * Silver-lead ore was mined in the 19th century at a place called Brais. The mine was closed in 1956. * A granite quarry is still in operation in the northeast, not far from the former mine site.

Population

Inhabitants of Vieux-Vy-sur-Couesnon are called ''Vieuxviciens'' in French.

Transportation

The village is served by just one bus route, the Rennes/Antrain line.

Sights

* The Saint-Germain church, most of which dates from the seventeenth century, although certain parts date from the eleventh century. The organ was installed in 1883. * The Chateau of Moulinet, dating from the nineteenth century. * The Grotto of Brais (dedicated to the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

). * Within the village boundaries there are seven watermills on the Couesnon river. These are mainly paper mills. * The

cyclopean Cyclopean masonry is a type of stonework found in Mycenaean architecture, built with massive limestone boulders, roughly fitted together with minimal clearance between adjacent stones and with clay mortar or no use of mortar. The boulders typic ...

Wall of Orange (from the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...